Dataset: Shell Concentrations from an adult Eastern oyster ocean acidification exposure experiment on adult Eastern oysters from Plum Island Sound in 2017

This dataset represents Crassostrea virginica shell samples analyzed for trace and minor elements in adult Eastern oyster ocean acidification exposure experiments at the Ries Lab at the Northeastern University Marine Science Center on samples from Plum Island Sound in 2017.

The collection and culturing of C. virginica specimens are detailed in Downey-Wall, A.M., L.P. Cameron, B.M. Ford, E.M. McNally, Y.R. Venkataraman, S.B. Roberts, J.B. Ries, and K.E. Lotterhos. 2020. Ocean acidification induces subtle shifts in gene expression and DNA methylation in the mantle tissue of the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Frontiers in Marine Science doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.566419.

Shells were cleaned thoroughly in 90 percent ethanol (Fisher Reagent Alcohol CAS: 64-17-5). Cleaned shells were dried at room temperature for 48 hours and stored in sealed plastic bags. The inner (lamellar) layer of oyster shells was sampled for elemental analysis. Shells were sampled by gently moving a Shiyang-III dental drill outfitted with a round bit across the low-Mg calcite surfaces of the interior shell. The powdered shell was placed in 15-milliliter (mL) polypropylene centrifuge tubes leached in 5 percent ultra-pure nitric acid solution (Fisher TraceMetal Grade Nitric Acid UN2031).

Elemental analysis
Shell samples were analyzed for trace and minor elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Shell samples were also acidified with ultra-pure nitric acid for analysis. Shell samples were analyzed for a suite of 57 elements (including Ca) by ActLabs, Ontario, Canada using the ActLabs ICPMS Ultratrace 4 method.