At CIMA (Atlantic Center for Environmental Research, S.L.), we want to show you what we do—both in our offices and beyond.

On this page, you’ll find a series of short videos called "Things We Do at CIMA", which will help explain what we do and how we do it. All to bring you closer to the world of Marine Biology and Oceanography.

– «Things We Do At CIMA» #4: Pollution Indicators:

Today we went to collect limpets. But we didn’t go as shellfish harvesters, and we won’t get to eat them :-(. This time, with our colleagues from InDrops, we will analyze their tissues for contaminants. To do this, we separate them from their shells. We dry them and, once dry, digest them in nitric acid using a microwave.

Part of this digested material is introduced into an ICP-MS to measure the heavy metals it contains.

Why do we do this?

Limpets are organisms that eat algae coating rocks and typically do not move ar from a specific area. In fact, limpets move around the site where they remain stationary during low tide, as they need seawater to survive. For this reason, during low tide, they "cling" to the substrate to avoid drying out. During high tide, when submerged, they graze on the algae covering the rocks. One of the most surprising facts is that limpets exhibit what the English call the "homing" phenomenon, meaning they return to the exact same position during low tide. If you closely observe a limpet’s shell profile, you’ll see it grows to match the substrate’s irregularities, fitting perfectly into its designated spot.

By analyzing different populations and determining heavy metal accumulation in their tissues, we gain insights into water quality and pollution levels from these metals in specific areas.

At CIMA (Atlantic Center for Environmental Research, S.L.), we want to show you what we do—both in our offices and beyond.

On this page, you’ll find a series of short videos called "Things We Do at CIMA", which will help explain what we do and how we do it. All to bring you closer to the world of Marine Biology and Oceanography.

– «Things We Do At CIMA» #4: Pollution Indicators:

Today we went to collect limpets. But we didn’t go as shellfish harvesters, and we won’t get to eat them :-(. This time, with our colleagues from InDrops, we will analyze their tissues for contaminants. To do this, we separate them from their shells. We dry them and, once dry, digest them in nitric acid using a microwave.

Part of this digested material is introduced into an ICP-MS to measure the heavy metals it contains.

Why do we do this?

Limpets are organisms that eat algae coating rocks and typically do not move ar from a specific area. In fact, limpets move around the site where they remain stationary during low tide, as they need seawater to survive. For this reason, during low tide, they "cling" to the substrate to avoid drying out. During high tide, when submerged, they graze on the algae covering the rocks. One of the most surprising facts is that limpets exhibit what the English call the "homing" phenomenon, meaning they return to the exact same position during low tide. If you closely observe a limpet’s shell profile, you’ll see it grows to match the substrate’s irregularities, fitting perfectly into its designated spot.

By analyzing different populations and determining heavy metal accumulation in their tissues, we gain insights into water quality and pollution levels from these metals in specific areas.