Soil phosphorus as an indicator of canine faecal pollution in urban recreation areas

Domestic dog defecations, potential carriers of toxocariasis, were mapped in comparable areas of public recreation grounds in Brighton, UK. A strong linear relationship was found between soil phosphorus content and defecation density, such that two distinct areas showed very similar regression lines generalised as y = 21 + 3·25x, where y ii soil phosphorus in mg kg−1 and x is the number of faecal deposits within the surrounding 5 × 5 m area of turf. In one area there were residually high phosphorus levels three years after dogs had been banned and it is suggested that soil phosphorus analysis may be a useful assay tool in investigations of canine pollution.