Copper, Cu

Abstract

Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for human and animal organisms, playing a structural and enzymatic role in endothermic animals. The profile of Cu emission to the environment has changed significantly in the past decades, with Asia responsible for 50% of global anthropogenic copper emission. This review of reports on the presence of Cu in different avian and mammalian species, usually evaluated in soft tissues including the liver and kidney, shows that it is mainly influenced by the type of diet and anthropogenic environmental contamination with Cu fungicides and with the high natural soil Cu levels resulting from volcanic activity. The good bioindicators of environmental Cu concentration are birds associated with wetland areas, e.g., herbivores such as the mute swan, ducks from the genera Anas and Aythya, terrestrial passerines (house sparrow, great tit, and blue tit), and birds of prey including the common buzzard, white-tailed eagle, and bald eagle. In terrestrial mammals, a measurable response to pollution with Cu is exhibited by canids common in natural and seminatural habitats, e.g., the Arctic fox, red fox, raccoon dog, American mink, otters, and ungulates, such as the wild boar and red deer. In Europe, Cu levels may now be tested in increasingly popular alien species, e.g., mink, raccoon, and raccoon dog, which allows wider intercontinental comparative studies. Biomarkers for identification of copper status are still being defined, and still the best solution to evaluate the exposure is to measure Cu concentrations in wildlife and the environment.