This paper expands on Archer (J Forensic Sci 49, 2004, 553), examining additional factors affecting ambient temperature correction of weather station data in forensic entomology. Sixteen hypothetical body discovery sites (BDSs) in Victoria and New South Wales (Australia), both in autumn and in summer, were compared to test whether the accuracy of correlation was affected by (i) length of correlation period; (ii) distance between BDS and weather station; and (iii) periodicity of ambient temperature measurements. The accuracy of correlations in data sets from real Victorian and NSW forensic entomology cases was also examined. Correlations increased weather data accuracy in all experiments, but significant differences in accuracy were found only between periodicity treatments. We found that a >5°C difference between average values of body in situ and correlation period weather station data was predictive of correlations that decreased the accuracy of ambient temperatures estimated using correlation. Practitioners should inspect their weather data sets for such differences.
This study developed and tested the efficacy of a real-time thermography technique to improve survey methods for Australian arboreal mammal species, with a focus on the greater glider. Development involved the use of thermal imaging cameras combined with spotlight transect surveys of an endangered greater glider population at Seven Mile Beach National Park. Over 30h of nocturnal spotlight transect surveys were undertaken over 14 (1km) transects within 70ha of dry sclerophyll forest. A protocol for the use of thermography to survey greater gliders was developed. The efficacy of the thermography protocol was then experimentally tested in comparison to traditional spotlighting. Overall, thermography was better at detecting arboreal mammals than spotlighting (P<0.05). However, the effect was not significant for greater gliders (P=0.79), even though there was a trend towards improved detection of the species using thermal cameras. Thermography is a novel approach to undertaking arboreal mammal surveys and future studies should consider its relevance, effectiveness and associated costs to improve survey designs, especially for threatened species.
The current study responds to the lack of understanding about the temperatures experienced by individual blow fly larvae within "maggot masses." The temperature selection of both aggregating (in a mass) and nonaggregating larvae was compared and their pattern of movement assessed. Infrared imaging determined the temperatures within a mass and in the vicinity of the constituent individual larvae, whose movements were tracked by dyeing their tissues red. Individual Chrysomya rufifacies larvae selected temperatures above 27°C, significantly higher than the temperature selected by Calliphora vicina larvae (24.5°C). However, this same difference was not seen within a mass, with both species selecting temperatures around 28°C. Larval movement in a mass was nonrandom, indicating that larvae actively select their position in a mass. Furthermore, larvae have a strong tendency to select the hottest part of a mass; therefore, maximum mass temperatures might provide a reliable proxy for the actual temperatures experienced by larvae.
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