Abstracto

Effect and necessity of anthropogenic copper on fresh water aquaculture organisms: A review

Shambel Boki Dabi

The aim of the present review is to gather baseline information on the importance and toxic effect of anthropogenic copper on aquaculture organisms. The expansion of agricultural activities (pesticide), industry (especially lather industry), metal works (electrical manufacturing), urban inputs (effluent from publicly owned treatment works) and mining activities can cause increase of anthropogenic copper in natural environments. Copper is an essential nutrient at low concentrations, but it is toxic to aquaculture organisms at higher concentrations. In addition to acute effects such as mortality, chronic exposure to copper can lead to adverse effects on survival, growth, reproduction as well as alterations of brain function, enzyme activity, blood chemistry, and metabolism. Polluted water by anthropogenic copper seriously threatens human health due to bioaccumulation of copper in muscle and other tissues of aquaculture organism. What makes copper as serious toxicant is its attraction to biological tissue and its slow elimination from biological system. The toxicity of copper can be affected by dissolved organic matter (DOM), alkalinity level, water pH, age and size of fish, presence of live feed, acclimatization time.