Limpet (Patella sp) as a biomonitor for organic pollutants. A proxy for mussel?

Highlights: • Limpet as a proxy for mussel in pollution studies if these are scarce or absent. • Good correlation between limpet and mussel concentrations for PAHs, PBDEs and PCBs. • Similar distribution pattern for individual pollutants. • Conversion factors to calculate mussel concentration from limpet concentration. • Possible to compare derived concentrations with environmental criteria for mussel. - Abstract: The scarcity of the most widely used species for assessing marine pollution (mussels) in some areas brings out the need to test the use of a different organism. In this study, 11 sampling sites along the Atlantic Spanish coast were selected and both mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and limpets (Patella sp.) were analysed for PAHs, PBDEs and PCBs. The concentrations of the different pollutants in both species followed the same general distribution allowing us to differentiate polluted and unpolluted sites using any of them. Although the concentrations found in limpets were generally lower than those measured in mussels, a good correlation was observed for most of the groups of pollutants and also for every individual congener. A conversion factor was proposed for most of the individual PAH and PCB congeners, allowing the conversion of limpet concentration into mussel concentration that can be directly applied in assessments using environmental criteria derived for mussels.