Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/36888
Appears in Collections:Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: The impact of beaver dams on distribution of waterborne Escherichia coli and turbidity in an agricultural landscape
Author(s): White, Hannah L.
Fellows, Rosie
Woodford, Luke
Ormsby, Michael J.
van Biervliet, Ollie
Law, Alan
Quilliam, Richard S.
Willby, Nigel J.
Contact Email: richard.quilliam@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Agricultural run-off
Castor fiber L
Diffuse pollution
Nature-based solutions
Water quality
Issue Date: Mar-2025
Date Deposited: 28-Feb-2025
Citation: White HL, Fellows R, Woodford L, Ormsby MJ, van Biervliet O, Law A, Quilliam RS & Willby NJ (2025) The impact of beaver dams on distribution of waterborne Escherichia coli and turbidity in an agricultural landscape. <i>Science of The Total Environment</i>, 968, p. 178871. https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271800/1-s2.0-S0048969725X00036/1-s2.0-S0048969725005066/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEFAaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQDSjr1E%2Bp2dmfk3Jr7QIh2H1nDxnIIETFGGvk%2FZejN5MAIgOxl0Vg%2FLM4rSd7Vr%2BkQE8EzYateAsybWb5NnhCIe4NsqvAUIif%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDA0URukm5dJHveKsBSqQBYbLXS2hiW%2FyxcCrURK4YfdqLAEsWNWkR0tZuKz%2BmTA4IhrAMpUxQHhOXDIfp0k9cODOpew28hRJ80LdUdjkf9ycuplFaV%2Bflm1KKQtO%2FWZlqGObmWFOSoSrMagTVAt5%2BYRjs8Rsh9jllwvZg14LRM%2BxzfQehCml3%2BOea8J99g3ZrrkRrmHp8vB4uxqdHI1WY2z0F0yk9m0BRdU87GRMIF2vR7s4FvHNqN3lviBqLcO52REjkJoVgBlzJL4Ii2jB3V5r3VFLMm4%2B7cJC7Ct5AX9m4VnMVy%2ByW1CqQiQyhWEK42J30n5hFqPAQaEY0vcbZmjFy2qK8cri%2F3pkNrfyXOr%2FPuCeEwEpeI3PPe6wREj9iSMsSiIuwGNxwAAVNjOFKTwcuzFz2i2G7BmKqOeZBrXXuG%2F%2FrJqyhCEDwvj5oaoB0c7LxHTqmbU%2FnlBBQFl%2Bn%2B3OPfj4Gv1rj13j4VTTtC%2Bwvjv3%2Fj7izZ4VEEn5tqmg8Czr%2BUIsr7RmlczA2lrugjiAoLZg9COrdF3%2FxeVW3Ard1K0AuJ2jzWWFedczKge7GzZaeWwLG4Qe4gWZhzDlrnb5n6IrEhWEgMBqVHvb9Yv2QWRwWY3N9%2BoDi40HGsim21g9o4Vr1URhIBlBGdYpfjJcpcT4pXTw8aZhbn6J%2FyqMk7%2BchVaWxmHJlnbgfLiKO7sLVaSHrAA0JUZAs5mtKPrqVgq%2BUdNkakS0E1QNAhMYVeOnSm%2Bgbk%2BUDoiNhHACj7M012yeKWO64nuczdapDLVLnHXx6Fyj%2FqkpKeoqwAMLlJEVGOD5%2FtN4ZGQr2f1RA5XUk1EPzk%2BXqO1nDVawlahLk30OxcrJp%2B%2B%2Bfz5bIkIIOUcd0NL2q8uJmT6KKCxGMLDVhb4GOrEBYgJKJXbhQCDrNUQu12Zbu4Afig7Jm03plXRHXHRClPLt0z%2BqyvVeu0jRcGHekdiZbUmS2L1WFbcke9iIp1CL4O6T4BA0GrRvl5yMzY3FqL2LW9Wp%2BJcS6vfeU3Vziix%2BpXc4%2F3JXjunsNcNv%2FUN3fDEq5t5ikAHoyUYdCnVC0a7T%2Bsdbm7u1O1J82D2rIET%2BUMKoTSuWy1sxykgpE%2BE%2B1Yvi1Zcl6cozsdzmIympsFrc&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20250228T085102Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYSJQMM6EY%2F20250228%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=edfffb8c46da1a68dde00d4d11468278cfd23e0886591a2b0a09da1e462b5903&hash=668b012965ee5fddbcd74940d83a8e2a1cbfb03f5415b66bd5513eda4f9034fd&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0048969725005066&tid=spdf-9a4ebb8e-3089-41f5-84ff-b6d9b7ee4ae0&sid=b9b7f7c69790104b9428c08-5f2321f07719gxrqb&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&rh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=02045d53570755055901&rr=918f2b9fca792196&cc=gb; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178871
Abstract: Globally, freshwater environments are threatened by point source and diffuse pollution, habitat loss, and climate change. Enhancing water quality and reducing microbial pollution are priorities to realise their ecosystem services potential but challenging to achieve and require creative solutions. Beavers are receiving increasing attention as ecosystem engineers, their dams benefitting aquatic ecosystems via improved biodiversity, water quality, and flow regulation. However, effects on microbial water quality remain uncertain. Here, we investigated the influence of engineering by Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) on variation in Escherichia coli concentrations and turbidity in an agricultural stream. Water samples were collected over a period of two years (2017–2019, encompassing 11 sampling dates), from a sequence of 14 beaver dams and associated ponds to quantify fluxes of turbidity and E. coli. On average, dam structures were a source whereas ponds acted as a sink for both turbidity and E. coli. The sink effect of ponds strengthened with upstream load, increasingly outweighing the source effect of dams while being moderated by season and antecedent flow and rainfall. To complement these findings, in 2023, an in-situ pollution event was simulated by adding a slurry of livestock manure (25 l) to two nearby closely comparable streams, one beaver-engineered, the other not (control), and tracking the downstream distribution of waterborne E. coli. Consistent with our field sampling campaign, E. coli was strongly attenuated in beaver ponds, which reduced peak concentrations by >95 % and slowed the flushing of E. coli compared to the control stream. Our study demonstrates that beaver dams exert a range of effects on microbial and associated pollution but, importantly, under peak loading can significantly decrease pollution reaching downstream receptors. Beaver dams, and potentially their analogues, could therefore support environmental management strategies in agricultural systems as part of a suite of nature-based approaches.
URL: https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271800/1-s2.0-S0048969725X00036/1-s2.0-S0048969725005066/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEFAaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQDSjr1E%2Bp2dmfk3Jr7QIh2H1nDxnIIETFGGvk%2FZejN5MAIgOxl0Vg%2FLM4rSd7Vr%2BkQE8EzYateAsybWb5NnhCIe4NsqvAUIif%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDA0URukm5dJHveKsBSqQBYbLXS2hiW%2FyxcCrURK4YfdqLAEsWNWkR0tZuKz%2BmTA4IhrAMpUxQHhOXDIfp0k9cODOpew28hRJ80LdUdjkf9ycuplFaV%2Bflm1KKQtO%2FWZlqGObmWFOSoSrMagTVAt5%2BYRjs8Rsh9jllwvZg14LRM%2BxzfQehCml3%2BOea8J99g3ZrrkRrmHp8vB4uxqdHI1WY2z0F0yk9m0BRdU87GRMIF2vR7s4FvHNqN3lviBqLcO52REjkJoVgBlzJL4Ii2jB3V5r3VFLMm4%2B7cJC7Ct5AX9m4VnMVy%2ByW1CqQiQyhWEK42J30n5hFqPAQaEY0vcbZmjFy2qK8cri%2F3pkNrfyXOr%2FPuCeEwEpeI3PPe6wREj9iSMsSiIuwGNxwAAVNjOFKTwcuzFz2i2G7BmKqOeZBrXXuG%2F%2FrJqyhCEDwvj5oaoB0c7LxHTqmbU%2FnlBBQFl%2Bn%2B3OPfj4Gv1rj13j4VTTtC%2Bwvjv3%2Fj7izZ4VEEn5tqmg8Czr%2BUIsr7RmlczA2lrugjiAoLZg9COrdF3%2FxeVW3Ard1K0AuJ2jzWWFedczKge7GzZaeWwLG4Qe4gWZhzDlrnb5n6IrEhWEgMBqVHvb9Yv2QWRwWY3N9%2BoDi40HGsim21g9o4Vr1URhIBlBGdYpfjJcpcT4pXTw8aZhbn6J%2FyqMk7%2BchVaWxmHJlnbgfLiKO7sLVaSHrAA0JUZAs5mtKPrqVgq%2BUdNkakS0E1QNAhMYVeOnSm%2Bgbk%2BUDoiNhHACj7M012yeKWO64nuczdapDLVLnHXx6Fyj%2FqkpKeoqwAMLlJEVGOD5%2FtN4ZGQr2f1RA5XUk1EPzk%2BXqO1nDVawlahLk30OxcrJp%2B%2B%2Bfz5bIkIIOUcd0NL2q8uJmT6KKCxGMLDVhb4GOrEBYgJKJXbhQCDrNUQu12Zbu4Afig7Jm03plXRHXHRClPLt0z%2BqyvVeu0jRcGHekdiZbUmS2L1WFbcke9iIp1CL4O6T4BA0GrRvl5yMzY3FqL2LW9Wp%2BJcS6vfeU3Vziix%2BpXc4%2F3JXjunsNcNv%2FUN3fDEq5t5ikAHoyUYdCnVC0a7T%2Bsdbm7u1O1J82D2rIET%2BUMKoTSuWy1sxykgpE%2BE%2B1Yvi1Zcl6cozsdzmIympsFrc&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20250228T085102Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYSJQMM6EY%2F20250228%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=edfffb8c46da1a68dde00d4d11468278cfd23e0886591a2b0a09da1e462b5903&hash=668b012965ee5fddbcd74940d83a8e2a1cbfb03f5415b66bd5513eda4f9034fd&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0048969725005066&tid=spdf-9a4ebb8e-3089-41f5-84ff-b6d9b7ee4ae0&sid=b9b7f7c69790104b9428c08-5f2321f07719gxrqb&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&rh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=02045d53570755055901&rr=918f2b9fca792196&cc=gb
DOI Link: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178871
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
The impact of beaver dams on distribution of waterborne Escherichia coli and turbidity in an agricultural landscape.pdfFulltext - Published Version6.32 MBAdobe PDFView/Open



This item is protected by original copyright



A file in this item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons

Items in the Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

The metadata of the records in the Repository are available under the CC0 public domain dedication: No Rights Reserved https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

If you believe that any material held in STORRE infringes copyright, please contact library@stir.ac.uk providing details and we will remove the Work from public display in STORRE and investigate your claim.