Metal pollution monitoring programs make use of organisms, such as mussels, as biomonitors to evaluate and compare the metal pollution status of coastal areas worldwide. Despite the widespread distribution of mussels of the genus Mytilus, there are places where these organisms are absent or where their abundance is insufficient for biomonitoring purposes, such as in the Canary Islands (Spain). This study considers the use of limpets of the genus Patella as alternative/complementary species in metal pollution monitoring, and compares the bioaccumulation capacity of mussels and limpets collected simultaneously during several sampling campaigns at 11 sampling sites along the continental Spanish Atlantic coastline. Results show that there are some differences in bioaccumulation capacity between limpets and mussels, with limpets showing in average higher concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni, As and Cu, and lower concentrations of Zn, while concentrations of Hg and Pb were similar for both types of organisms. Significant correlations between metal concentration in mussels and limpets were found for most metals, with the notable exception of Cd, that showed a very different bioaccumulation pattern in both types of organisms. Limpet to mussel metal concentration ratios were derived that can be used to compare the results of metal biomonitoring using either limpets or mussels, and limpets were successfully used in a monitoring survey in the Canary Islands.

金属污染监测计划利用贻贝等生物体作为生物监测器来评估和比较全球沿海地区的金属污染状况。尽管贻贝属贻贝广泛分布，但在某些地方这些生物不存在或它们的数量不足以进行生物监测，例如在加那利群岛（西班牙）。本研究考虑在金属污染监测中使用髌骨属的帽贝作为替代/互补物种，并比较了在西班牙大西洋大陆海岸线沿线 11 个采样点的几次采样活动中同时采集的贻贝和帽贝的生物蓄积能力。结果表明，帽贝和贻贝之间的生物蓄积能力存在一定差异，帽贝的平均 Cd、Cr、Ni、As 和 Cu 浓度较高，而 Zn 浓度较低，而两种生物的 Hg 和 Pb 浓度相似。在大多数金属中发现了贻贝和帽贝中金属浓度之间的显着相关性，但明显的例外是镉，这在两种类型的生物中显示出非常不同的生物积累模式。推导出帽贝与贻贝的金属浓度比，可用于比较使用帽贝或贻贝进行金属生物监测的结果，并且在加那利群岛的监测调查中成功使用了帽贝。在大多数金属中发现了贻贝和帽贝中金属浓度之间的显着相关性，但明显的例外是镉，这在两种类型的生物中显示出非常不同的生物积累模式。推导出帽贝与贻贝的金属浓度比，可用于比较使用帽贝或贻贝进行金属生物监测的结果，并且在加那利群岛的监测调查中成功使用了帽贝。在大多数金属中发现了贻贝和帽贝中金属浓度之间的显着相关性，但明显的例外是镉，这在两种类型的生物中显示出非常不同的生物积累模式。推导出帽贝与贻贝的金属浓度比，可用于比较使用帽贝或贻贝进行金属生物监测的结果，并且在加那利群岛的监测调查中成功使用了帽贝。