Annual variation in arrival and departure times of carrion insects at carcasses: implications for succession studies in forensic entomology

Abstract

A succession of insect species associate with decaying bodies, and because of the relatively predictable arrival and departure times of many species, this process is routinely used to estimate minimum post-mortem interval. Corpse fauna are compared with baseline data on succession rates, which are usually taken from decomposing animal carcasses. Baseline data are traditionally collected over a single year only; however, annual differences in weather patterns and insect population parameters probably alter succession rates. Surprisingly, this potential source of error has not previously been examined. Therefore, a two-year succession experiment was performed to investigate annual variation in succession rates. Sets of five still-born piglet carcasses were placed in a forest each season of both years. Six insects that occur year-round were selected: adults of Aleochara brachialis Jekel, Anotylus spp., Creophilus erythrocephalus Fabricius (Staphylinidae: Coleoptera), Ptomaphila lacrymosa Schreibers (Silphidae: Coleoptera), Pseudonemadus spp. (Leiodidae: Coleoptera), and larvae of Calliphora spp. (Calliphoridae: Diptera). Arrival and departure weeks to and from carcasses were measured in each season of both years. Two-way ANOVAs revealed significant season and year interactions on the arrival weeks of Anotylus spp., C. erythrocephalus, and Pseudonemadus spp., and significant differences in seasonal and yearly arrival times for A. brachialis, and P. lacrymosa. For larvae of Calliphora spp., there was a significant seasonal effect on arrival times. A significant interaction between season and year affected the departure weeks of all taxa. These results show that error in the estimates of minimum post-mortem interval can result if baseline succession data are collected only over one year.

Interactions between a detrital resource pulse and a detritivore community

“…Observed patterns of detritivore succession on large magnitude cicada pulses are similar to patterns observed in studies of vertebrate carcass decomposition (Payne 1965;Hanski 1987;Doube 1987;Schoenly and Reid 1987;Watson and Carlton 2003;Archer 2003). Both of these resources attract a diverse, specific and often overlapping detritivore community.…”

Blow Flies Visiting Decaying Alligators: Is Succession Synchronous or Asynchronous?

“…For example, carcass size [32], seasonality [9,18], time since initial exposure of carrion [33], indoors versus outdoors [34], sun versus shade [35], burning [36], burying [37], and hanging [38] have all been investigated. Several studies have evoked the possibility of variation among replicated carcasses, but none of these investigations confirm this suggestion through direct observation (e.g., [6,13,39,40]). Implicit to all carrion studies is the idea that carcasses (of similar physical dimensions) placed in the same habitat at the same time will exhibit limited differences in the rate of decomposition or succession of insects.…”

Levantamento da fauna de Coleoptera que habita a carcaça de Sus scrofa L., em Curitiba, Paraná

“…Esta variação temporal na composição da comunidade afeta tanto a abundância quanto a riqueza sendo um fator normalmente encontrado em comunidades necrófagas (Archer, 2003;Moura et al, 1997;Souza & Linhares, 1997;Carvalho & Linhares, 2001).…”