Heavy metal accumulation in non-human primates: a global systematic review.

Environmental pollution is a significant driver of biodiversity loss. Numerous synthetic chemicals, including heavy metals, are introduced into ecosystems with largely unknown impacts on wildlife. Heavy metals are a critical group of environmental pollutants due to their persistence and toxicity. Despite physiological similarities to humans, the health impacts of heavy metal exposure on non-human primates (NHPs) have largely been ignored. This systematic review aims to fill this gap by analyzing the global literature on heavy metal accumulation in NHP species, focusing on their current exposure status. We surveyed 765 articles from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, and identified 45 studies that fit our predetermined inclusion criteria. Most studies focused on Macaca mulatta and Macaca fuscata, species commonly used in biomedical research due to their physiological similarities to humans. However, both species are classified as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, indicating research may disproportionately focus on less vulnerable species, potentially overlooking those at greater conservation risk. Additionally, while there is a notable emphasis on essential metals like zinc, copper, iron, and calcium, potentially toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic - most hazardous per the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - are less frequently studied. Currently, there are no established reference values for heavy metals in NHPs, whether essential or non-essential. Our findings highlight the urgent need to understand human impact on primate health and conservation, as NHPs serve as valuable bioindicators for assessing environmental and health risks to humans.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Environmental Pollution

• Publication date

  2025-08-28

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127042PMID 40885421
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Landscape degradation drives metal bioaccumulation in bats from Atlantic Forest cacao region, Brazil

  2024cited by this paper
• Lead exposure and its relationship with fecal cortisol levels in black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)

  2024cited by this paper
• Characteristics of fecal mercury and methylmercury and risks to captive golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in China

  2024cited by this paper
• Heavy Metals in Hair of Small Mammals from the Cacao Agroforestry and Brazilian Atlantic Forest

  2023cited by this paper
• Human activity and climate change accelerate the extinction risk to non‐human primates in China

  2023cited by this paper
• Mineral acquisition of Japanese macaques: Contents in the foods, digestibility, and sodium‐provisioning experiment

  2023cited by this paper
• Concentrations of iron and chromium in free-ranging common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) from Pernambuco, Brazil

  2023cited by this paper
• A Literature Review of Unintentional Intoxications of Nonhuman Primates

  2022cited by this paper
• Heavy metal ecotoxicology of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) across field sites in South Africa

  2022cited by this paper
• Biomonitoring metals and metalloids in wild mammals: invasive versus non-invasive sampling

  2022cited by this paper
• Heavy Metals Accumulation in Feaces of Wildlife around Ogun River in Old Oyo National Park, Nigeria

  2022cited by this paper
• The chemical landscape of tropical mammals in the Anthropocene

  2022cited by this paper
• Anatomy of the Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta): The Essentials for the Biomedical Researcher

  2021cited by this paper
• Identifying and mitigating the impacts on primates of transportation and service corridors

  2021cited by this paper
• Characterization of Models for Identifying Physical and Cognitive Frailty in Older Adults With Diabetes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  2020cited by this paper
• Age‐related rhesus macaque models of COVID‐19

  2020cited by this paper
• Howler monkey tolerance to habitat shrinking: Lifetime warranty or death sentence?

  2020cited by this paper
• Heavy Metal Levels in Water, Soil, Plant and Faecal Samples Collected from the Borgu Sector of Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria

  2019cited by this paper
• Methylmercury exposure in wildlife: A review of the ecological and physiological processes affecting contaminant concentrations and their interpretation.

  2019cited by this paper
• The conservation value of human-modified landscapes for the world’s primates

  2019cited by this paper
• Derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells in Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata)

  2018cited by this paper
• Heavy Metal Pollution as a Biodiversity Threat

  2018cited by this paper
• A review of the evidence for endocrine disrupting effects of current-use chemicals on wildlife populations

  2018cited by this paper
• Conservation efforts of captive golden takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi) are potentially compromised by the elevated chemical elements exposure.

  2017cited by this paper
• Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter

  2017cited by this paper
• Agricultural expansion as risk to endangered wildlife: Pesticide exposure in wild chimpanzees and baboons displaying facial dysplasia.

  2017cited by this paper
• Environmental benefits of reduced electricity use exceed impacts from lead use for perovskite based tandem solar cell

  2017cited by this paper
• Cadmium uptake by cocoa trees in agroforestry and monoculture systems under conventional and organic management.

  2017cited by this paper
• Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil from E-waste Dumpsites in Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria

  2017cited by this paper
• The Implications of Primate Behavioral Flexibility for Sustainable Human–Primate Coexistence in Anthropogenic Habitats

  2017cited by this paper
• Sustainable System for Raw-Metal Recovery from Crystalline Silicon Solar Panels: From Noble-Metal Extraction to Lead Removal

  2016cited by this paper
• Iron accumulates in the primate choroid of the eye with aging as revealed with synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy.

  2016cited by this paper
• Exposure of the endangered golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) to heavy metals: a comparison of wild and captive animals

  2015cited by this paper
• Primates Decline Rapidly in Unprotected Forests: Evidence from a Monitoring Program with Data Constraints

  2015cited by this paper
• Rain on Methylammonium Lead Iodide Based Perovskites: Possible Environmental Effects of Perovskite Solar Cells.

  2015cited by this paper
• Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement

  2015cited by this paper
• Chemical composition and mineral contents differentiation in hairs of some wild animal species.

  2015cited by this paper
• The Role of Google Scholar in Evidence Reviews and Its Applicability to Grey Literature Searching

  2015cited by this paper
• BIOMEDICAL EVALUATION OF VERREAUX'S SIFAKA (PROPITHECUS VERREAUXI) FROM KIRINDY MITEA NATIONAL PARK IN MADAGASCAR

  2014cited by this paper
• The benefits of publishing systematic quantitative literature reviews for PhD candidates and other early-career researchers

  2014cited by this paper
• Adaptation of plants to an environment polluted with heavy metals

  2014cited by this paper
• Genetic structure and diversity of animal populations exposed to metal pollution.

  2014cited by this paper
• Cascading impacts of anthropogenically driven habitat loss: deforestation, flooding, and possible lead poisoning in howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)

  2014cited by this paper
• Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals

  2014cited by this paper
• Daughter dearest: Sex-biased calcium in mother's milk among rhesus macaques.

  2013cited by this paper
• Breeding performance of blue tits (Cyanistes cæruleus ultramarinus) in relation to lead pollution and nest failure rates in rural, intermediate, and urban sites in Algeria.

  2013cited by this paper
• Barium distributions in teeth reveal early life dietary transitions in primates

  2013cited by this paper
• Metal exposure and accumulation patterns in free-range cows (Bos taurus) in a contaminated natural area: Influence of spatial and social behavior.

  2013cited by this paper
• Metals, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration: a focus on iron, manganese and mercury.

  2013cited by this paper
• Heavy metals in the habitat and throughout the food chain of the Neotropical otter, Lontra longicaudis, in protected Mexican wetlands

  2013cited by this paper
• Heavy metal concentrations in hair of newly imported China-origin rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

  2012cited by this paper
• Metal and metalloid foliar uptake by various plant species exposed to atmospheric industrial fallout: mechanisms involved for lead.

  2012cited by this paper
• Trace metal contamination in urban soils of China.

  2012cited by this paper
• Investigation of Cadmium Contamination Using Hair of the Japanese Macaque, Macaca fuscata, from Shimokita Peninsula, Aomori Prefecture in Japan

  2012cited by this paper
• White monkey syndrome and presumptive copper deficiency in wild savannah baboons

  2011cited by this paper
• Liver iron overloading in captive muriquis (Brachyteles spp.)

  2011cited by this paper
• Lead levels in long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) hair from Singapore

  2011cited by this paper
• Bioaccumulation and histopathological alterations of the heavy metals in Oreochromis niloticus fish

  2010cited by this paper
• Copper-related diseases: From chemistry to molecular pathology

  2010cited by this paper
• A review of heavy metal contaminations in urban soils, urban road dusts and agricultural soils from China.

  2010cited by this paper
• Effects of habitat fragmentation and disturbance on howler monkeys: a review

  2010cited by this paper
• Cancer and Non-Cancer Risk Assessment from Exposure to Arsenic, Copper, and Cadmium in Borehole, Tap, and Surface Water in the Obuasi Municipality, Ghana

  2010cited by this paper
• The biochemistry of environmental heavy metal uptake by plants: implications for the food chain.

  2009cited by this paper
• Evaluation of pastures for horses grazing on soils polluted by trace elements

  2009cited by this paper
• Fecal genotyping and contaminant analyses reveal variation in individual river otter exposure to localized persistent contaminants

  2009cited by this paper
• Synanthropic primates in Asia: potential sentinels for environmental toxins.

  2009cited by this paper
• Relevance of hair and spines of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) as biomonitoring tissues for arsenic and metals in relation to blood.

  2009cited by this paper
• Assessment of organochlorine pesticides and metals in ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar

  2009cited by this paper
• Utilização de pelos de animais silvestres para monitoramento ambiental de Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb e Zn

  2009cited by this paper
• Mammalian hair as an accumulative bioindicator of metal bioavailability in Australian terrestrial environments.

  2009cited by this paper
• Assessing natural introgression in 2 biomedical model species, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) and the long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis).

  2009cited by this paper
• Japanese macaques as laboratory animals.

  2009cited by this paper
• Risk assessment of potentially toxic element pollution in soils and rice (Oryza sativa) in a typical area of the Yangtze River Delta.

  2009cited by this paper
• Animal decisions and conservation: the recolonization of a severely polluted river by the Eurasian otter

  2009cited by this paper
• Haematology, genotoxicity, enzymatic activity and histopathology as biomarkers of metal pollution in the shrew Crocidura russula.

  2008cited by this paper
• The Status of the World's Land and Marine Mammals: Diversity, Threat, and Knowledge

  2008cited by this paper
• Heavy metals concentrations of surface dust from e-waste recycling and its human health implications in southeast China.

  2008cited by this paper
• Assessment and management of risk to wildlife from cadmium.

  2008cited by this paper
• Animal excrement: a potential biomonitor of heavy metal contamination in the marine environment.

  2008cited by this paper
• Iron accumulation in the striatum predicts aging-related decline in motor function in rhesus monkeys.

  2007cited by this paper
• Mercury speciation and emissions from coal combustion in Guiyang, Southwest China.

  2007cited by this paper
• Non-destructive pollution exposure assessment by means of wood mice hair.

  2007cited by this paper
• Contaminant exposure in terrestrial vertebrates.

  2007cited by this paper
• BIOMEDICAL EVALUATION OF FREE-RANGING RING-TAILED LEMURS (LEMUR CATTA) IN THREE HABITATS AT THE BEZA MAHAFALY SPECIAL RESERVE, MADAGASCAR

  2007cited by this paper
• Blood biochemical indicators in young and adult Cebus apella of both sexes

  2007cited by this paper
• Methylmercury Exposure and Health Effects in Humans: A Worldwide Concern

  2007cited by this paper
• Export of toxic chemicals - a review of the case of uncontrolled electronic-waste recycling.

  2007cited by this paper
• Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress and Heavy Metal Levels as Indicators of Environmental Pollution in African Cat Fish (Clarias gariepinus) from Nigeria Ogun River

  2007cited by this paper
• Motor alterations associated with exposure to manganese in the environment in Mexico.

  2006cited by this paper
• Element Levels in Snakes in South Carolina: Differences Between a Control Site and Exposed Site on the Savannah River Site

  2006cited by this paper
• Estimation of mercury emission from different sources to atmosphere in Chongqing, China.

  2006cited by this paper
• Renal and Neurologic Effects of Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, and Arsenic in Children: Evidence of Early Effects and Multiple Interactions at Environmental Exposure Levels

  2005cited by this paper
• Animal Hair as Biological Indicator for Heavy Metal Pollution in Urban and Rural Areas

  2005cited by this paper
• Trace elements in agroecosystems and impacts on the environment.

  2005cited by this paper
• The study of metal contamination in urban soils of Hong Kong using a GIS-based approach.

  2004cited by this paper
• Normal concentrations of essential and toxic elements in pregnant baboons and fetuses (Papio species)

  2004cited by this paper
• Heavy metals in soils and crops in Southeast Asia

  2004cited by this paper
• Hazards of heavy metal contamination.

  2003cited by this paper
• Hazards of heavy metal contamination.

  2003cited by this paper
• Chapter 1 Definitions, strategies and principles for bioindication/biomonitoring of the environment

  2003cited by this paper

• Prediction of soil heavy metal extraction efficiency by leaching agents and identification of key factors based on machine learning algorithms

  2026cites this paper
• Hydrochemical Characterisation and Assessment of Groundwater Suitability for Drinking and Irrigation Purposes in Sângeorz-Băi Area, Bistrița-Năsăud County (Romania)

  2025influential citation
• Effective Treatment of Wastewater Containing Ni (II) and Pb (II) Using Modified Kaolin: Experimental and Simulation Study

  2025cites this paper