Summary
This field and laboratory study of 70 US west-coast vegetable farms demonstrates that organic farming practices foster greater coprophage biodiversity (dung beetles and soil bacteria) compared to conventional methods. The coprophage communities typical of organic farms were significantly more effective at suppressing the foodborne pathogen E. coli O157:H7 in laboratory assays, suggesting a mechanistic link between farm management, ecological communities, and food safety outcomes. The findings challenge the assumption that diverse farmlands necessarily increase pathogen vectoring risk.
UK applicability
The findings are potentially applicable to UK horticulture and mixed farms, though the US west-coast climate, landscape context (including feral Sus scrofa populations), and specific coprophage communities may differ from UK conditions. UK farms operating under organic certification standards would likely see comparable community-level benefits, though local species composition and landscape simplification patterns would warrant investigation.
Key measures
Dung beetle species richness and abundance; soil bacterial biodiversity; faeces removal rates of Sus scrofa; E. coli O157:H7 suppression capacity of coprophage communities
Outcomes reported
The study measured coprophage (dung beetle and soil bacterial) communities and their effectiveness at removing feral pig faeces and suppressing human-pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 across 70 commercial vegetable fields in organic versus conventional systems. Results indicated that organic farms harbour coprophage assemblages significantly more effective at pathogen suppression than those in conventional farms.
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