Coleopterofauna found on fresh and frozen rabbit carcasses in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

Many arthropod species are associated with carrion and some of them can be used as forensic indicators in murder investigations to estimate the time of death. Different physical conditions of cadavers may influence the fauna and the importance of freezing and thawing is unknown. The present paper sought to survey the Coleoptera species encountered in frozen and fresh rabbit carcasses, at a forest in Curitiba, Brazil. Four rabbit carcasses, two of them fresh and the other frozen were used. The coleopterofauna was sampled daily, and analyzed using non-parametric tests. A total of 666 beetles were sampled, belonging to 28 species in 10 families. Most of the beetles captured were larvae of Oxelytrum spp. (433) which are known to be necrophagous. The two frozen carcasses accounted for most of the beetles (338 and 180) in comparison with the two fresh carcasses (103 and 45). The tests were based on the most abundant species. Oxelytrum spp. median differed significantly between carcasses (H = 12.47844; p = 0.0059). The two fresh carcasses differed significantly (U = 190.0; p = 0.00019), but there was no significant difference between the frozen carcasses (U = 336.0; p = 0.29755). The data indicate that the freezing process prevents certain species to colonize carcasses, in this case with the dominance of species of Oxelytrum. These data also indicate that careful attention is necessary before using frozen carcasses in forensic entomology studies. Palavras-chave: besouros, fauna necrófaga, entomologia forense, Oxelytrum spp. e carcaça de coelho. Keywords

Effect of freezing on the initial colonization of the carcass with necrophagous organisms

“…We did not confirm the conclusions of Mise et al (2013) that freezing/thawing reduces the number of species on the carcasses. On the contrary, we noticed in frozen alternative an additional species, Lucilia ampullacea, that was absent from fresh carcasses.…”

“…In spite of previous research, data from experiments comparing colonization of fresh and frozen-thawed cadavers are still scarce. Mise et al (2013) found that the prior freezing may reduce the number of beetle species that colonize the carcass after thawing. For members of the family Calliphoridae, it is assumed, that they do not participate in the decomposition process in the temperate zone during the cold part of the year (Smith 1986).…”

Papel dos besouros (Insecta, Coleoptera) na Entomologia Forense

“…Nos últimos anos, além de estudos desenvolvidos no Paraná [50,56,57], importantes contribuições para o conhecimento da coleopterofauna associada a carcaças no Brasil foram dadas com pesquisas em áreas de Floresta Amazônica [12,35,53], Cerrado [38] e Caatinga [21,47,58]. Grande riqueza de coleópteros habitando as carcaças está presente, por exemplo, nos trabalhos de Luederwaldt [44], Mise et al [50] e Santos et al [58] que coletaram respectivamente 62, 112 e 88 espécies.…”

Coleoptera species of forensic importance from Brazil: an updated list

“…4 Pig Curitiba (PR) Mise et al, 2007 Carabidae sp. 5 Pig Curitiba (PR) Mise et al, 2007 Cleridae Necrobia ruficollis (Fabricius, 1775) Pig, not specified Campinas (PR), São Paulo (SP), Curitiba (PR) Luederwaldt, 1911;Mise et al, 2007 Necrobia rufipes (De Geer, 1775) Human, pig, rabbit, not specified São Paulo (SP), Campinas (SP), Curitiba (PR), Ribeirão do Pinhal (PR), Uberlândia (MG), Serra Talhada (PE) Luederwaldt, 1911;Souza and Linhares, 1997;Carvalho et al, 2000;Carvalho et al, 2004;Mise et al, 2007;Rosa et al, 2011;Silva and Santos, 2012;Mayer and Vasconcelos, 2013;Mise et al, 2013 Cleridae sp. Pig Recife (PE) Cruz and Vasconcelos, 2006 Dermestidae Dermestes maculatus (De Geer, 1774) Human, pig, rat, rabbit Campinas (SP), Curitiba (PR), Uberlândia (MG), Serra Talhada (PE) Souza and Linhares, 1997;Carvalho et al, 2000;Carvalho et al, 2004;Mise et al, 2007;Rosa et al, 2011;Mayer and Vasconcelos, 2013; Souza and Linhares, 1997;Mise et al, 2007;Mise et al, 2010;Souza et al, 2008;Mise et al, 2013 Euspilotus ( Luederwaldt, 1911;Pessôa and Lane, 1941 …”