Trace element calcium ratios in the shell of Perna canaliculus

In Situ GrowthAnimals from six genetically distinct families of Perna canaliculs were grown at two sites for three years. The trace elemental composition of this shell material was then analyses at the most recently formed shell edge to determine if the site or the location at which these animals were cultured was the driver of variation in the composition of shell material.
Laboratory Animals: Ten different families were spawned and cultured in three tanks each under identical conditions for three months. The composition of shell material deposited just after spawning and immediately prior to harvest were analysed by LA-ICP-MS. This was to examine the influence of ontogeny and genetics n the composition of shell material.
All analyses were performed using Laser ablation plasma mass spectroscopy as in Norrie et al. (2018)