Seasonal and within-herd variability of E. coli concentrations in fresh dairy faeces

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive temporal data set of faecal indicator organism (FIO) counts (both E. coli and other coliforms) in fresh dairy faeces for Scotland. Such faecal audits for the UK are scarce which is surprising given that livestock constitute one of the largest agricultural sources of diffuse microbial pollution of surface waters and contributors to poor bathing water quality. Such FIO concentration data (and evaluation of variability across seasonal, within-herd and year-on-year counts) in fresh faeces is a fundamental precursor to the robust parameterization of models that aim to predict the fate and transfer of both FIOs and pathogens in agricultural catchments.