Golden Apple Snails

Golden apple snails were introduced in Hawaii serve as food.It was thought that such food culture could provide valuable proteins for farmers who primarily live on a rice diet. Golden apple snails are also popular for being an aquarium pets because of their attractive appearance and size. Instead of becoming a food source they escaped, and became a serious pest, posing a real threat to the rice production and the environment. They turned into a serious pest in the rice fields. These snails rapidly spread to the southern part of China and south east part of Asia most likely the Philippines. With this problem, the researcher thought of a solution. The researcher decided to use Golden apple snails’ shells as the primary component of brick to help lessen the population of this kind of snails. Background of the Study

Many researchers said that Golden Apple Snails are from South America. Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay are the first place, which Golden Apple Snails have come from. And it was exported by South America countries to Asia. They thought that Golden Apple Snails were a great source of protein for farmers who only ate rice. So it was exported to Vietnam first, and transported to the Philippines. There were many farmers using chemicals like pesticides for removing Golden Apple Snails in the Philippines.Pesticide is a great effective killer for Golden Apple Snails.Even though pesticides are effective killer for Golden Apple Some bricks now are not that durable anymore. More durable bricks now are really expensive. With the use of golden apple snails’ shells as the primary component of brick, bricks will be more durable and will be much cheaper than the other bricks.

Statement of the Problem
This study aims to answer the following:
a. What are the characteristics of Golden apple snail shell that can help bricks be more durable? b. Is there a significant difference in using artificial bricks and bricks that are made from Golden apple snails’ shells?

Significance of the Study
This study entitled “Golden Apple Snails Shells as a Primary Component of Brick” was conducted to benefit the following groups. For the consumers, this study will help them to afford durable bricks that they can use in their houses. This study will also help them to buy good quality rice but cheaper. For the brick makers, this study will help them to make and sell more durable and much cheaper bricks. For the farmers, this study will help them to lessen the number of the golden apple snails. This will also help them to produce and harvest more rice without damaging by these snails. For the researcher, this study serves as her own way to help people specially farmers to lessen the number of snails that lessen the number of the production of rice by using its shell as a component of brick. Scope and Limitation

The researcher only focuses on lessening the population of Golden apple snails. No other parts of Golden apple snails were used except its shells,being the primary component of brick .In this study, the researcher only observe the durability of the brick made up of Golden apple snails’ shells. This study was conducted from October 2012 to March 2013 at Luis Palad National High School. Hypothesis

There is no significant difference between the commercial bricks and bricks that are made up of snails’ shells.

Review of Related Literature
Review of Related Literature and Studies
The Golden Apple Snail is amphibious. While there is a sufficient level of dissolved oxygen in the water, they will hardly leave the water and will breathe by their gills. These snails have the ability to cruse away from the aquarium, so a cover glass is a necessity, as they won’t survive longer than a couple of days in dry conditions. Due to their liking of plant matter as food, most people recommend not to keep them in planted aquariums. On the other hand, these snails show that if well fed, they can be kept in planted aquaria almost without a problem. The golden apple snail found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay but it is Invasive species in Tropical-Asia and USA. They are mainly plant-matter, in the aquarium will eat also uneaten fish foods and meaty foods such as dead fish corpses. As this snail is fast growing, it needs calcium rich water, so it can grow with a healthy shell- the calcium is used as calcium-carbonate to create the shell, lack of calcium will cause the shell to be thinner and more susceptible to breaking and eventually, the snail will die.

The golden apple snail, popularly known as golden kuhol or miracle snail in the Philippines, is an introduced aquatic gastropod from South America. It is presently considered as a rice pest of national importance. The illegal introduction of the golden apple snail took place in the 1980s through the aquarium trade. It was initially introduced by the private sector as an aquaculture species, particularly as a cheap source of protein. Later, it found its way to waterways and ricefields. In 1995, the reported damage of golden apple snails in rice farming was estimated in more than 800,000 hectares all over the country. Estimated rice yield loss from golden apple snail infestation from 1985 to 1991 in the Philippines increased along with expanding infestation. Instead of becoming a boom to food production it became a bane in rice farming. Since then, researches on varied subjects, particularly on its control in rice farming, have been investigated.The channeled applesnail is native to temperate Argentina and northwards to the Amazon basin.

Through human introduction, this applesnail has rapidly spread to Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, southern China, Japan, Philippines, and Hawaii. There are indications that they are invading Australia. In the 1980’s, channeled applesnails were introduced in Taiwan to start an escargot industry. This snail was originally imported under the name “golden snail” or “golden applesnail” for human consumption. However, the Asian escargot market never materialized and applesnails, that escaped or were released, ultimately came to cause extensive damage to rice fields. In the United States the applesnail has been introduced for use in the aquarium trade, as a food source, and for the biological control of weeds. Specimens have been collected in Alabama, Arizona, and North Carolina. Established populations exist in Florida, California, and Hawaii.

The golden apple snail, (Pomacea canaliculata) has recently been introduced to several Asian countries where it has unexpectedly developed into a pest of rice. Reasons for the introduction as well as the economic and ecological impact of the snail are described. Most farmers have resorted to chemical control, with implications for human health and the environment. Integrated snail management practices are summarized including the use of the snail as a valuable aquatic resource. It is concluded that research on control strategies is urgently needed but requires sound knowledge of the ecology of the snail in its natural habitat.

A study was conducted to help lessen the number of these snails. This study uses kakawate leaves extract to lessen the population of golden apple snails.This study was done by Rock Merjudio, Eugene Symaco, and Mark Sia dated 2004 at Philippine Science High School, Quezon City. This study focused on the effectiveness of the different methods of applying the kakawate to reduce the golden apple snail population. The experiment consisted of four groups from A-E with each having 10 replicates of snails wherein each container will go different methods of applying the kakawate. Group A was treated with the extracted form or the diluted form of the extract. Group B was treated with the powdered form of the kakawate leaves. Group C was the tried method of putting the two forms together. Group D was treated with a common inorganic pesticide used to kill this kind of pest while the last group, Group E was the control group. Preliminary results showed that the kakawate extracts were effective in killing the golden apple snails that were cut in an aquarium where the control and experimental snails were given equal amounts of food, the same level of water, and other factors like the lighting and air.

Conceptual Framework
Process:
Constructing
Output:
Cheap and durable bricks
Input:
Snails Shells and Other Materials

Definition of Terms
Kaolin-has an extremely high melting point and when used in brick creation, it is fired between 1,000 and 1,200 degrees Centigrade. Kaolin is one of the main natural clay minerals that are used for the body of brick. Kaolin is a geological term that refers to a white clay rock that can be found in deposits throughout the world. Metaldehyde-is an organic compound with the formula (CH3CHO)4. It is commonly used as a pesticide against slugs, snails, and other gastropods. It is the cyclic tetramer ofacetaldehyde.It is a component of molluscicides. Molluscicides-also known as snail baits and snail pellets,are pesticides against molluscs, which are usually used in agriculture or gardening, in order to to control gastropod pests specifically slugs and snails which damage crops or other valued plants by feeding on them. Shale-is the other main material used in the body of brick. Shale is a sedimentary rock that makes up around 55 percent of all the sedimentary rocks on the planet.

Bibliography

http://www.applesnail.net/pestalert/conferences/icam07/philippines.htm