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Dung beetles 'reduce human pathogens risk'
http://theecologist.org/2019/mar/28/dung-beetles-reduce-human-pathogens-riskDate Written: 2019-03-28 Publisher: The Ecologist Year Published: 2019 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX23577 Farmers remove habitats that encourage natural wildlife for food-safety reasons, however, these habitats encourage biodiversity which could reduce the risk of pathogens in food. Abstract: -- Excerpt: Food safety regulations increasingly pressure growers to remove hedgerows, ponds and other natural habitats from farms to keep out pathogen-carrying wildlife and livestock. But this could come at the cost of biodiversity. New research published in the Journal of Applied Ecology encourages the presence of dung beetles and soil bacteria at farms as they naturally suppress E. coli and other harmful pathogens that can otherwise be spread to humans. Subject Headings |