Phase II spatial patterning of vulture scavenged human remains

Miranker, Molly; Giordano, Alberto; Spradley, Kate

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110392

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, the probability of movement as well as distance of movement increases as the decomposition progresses and should be considered when searching for persons missing for many months or years (which is beyond the timeframe of this study and a recommendation for future studies). Several studies have reported greater dispersal distances from both coyote and turkey vulture than those recorded in this study [2,4,39,41]. Consistent with a study by Schultz and Mitchell [38], the greatest movement observed by a vulture in the current study also occurred in a closed habitat (forest).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The contribution of forensic taphonomy to medico-legal death investigations can be critical when recovering and identifying human remains, as well as for estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The importance of an accurate PMI can be essential to help direct the search, to aid the identification of the deceased, and to establish a list of potential suspects [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies on invertebrate scavengers (insects) have been performed globally, including in Canada [13,[27][28][29], but only recently in the province of Quebec [17]. While the global literature reports the scavenging activity of mammalian species (e.g., coyote, domestic dog, bear, raccoon, rodents) [2,8,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37], as well as avian species (e.g., vultures, crows, and other bird species) [4][5][6]24,38], only a limited number of these published studies have been carried out in Canada [23,39], and to date, none in the province of Quebec.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The taphonomic impact of scavenger guilds in southern Quebec during summer and fall in two distinct habitats

Séguin

Durand-Guévin

Lavallée

et al. 2021

Journal of Forensic Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Decomposition of human remains is a complex process impacted by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors. A less-studied extrinsic factor in forensic taphonomy are the scavengers that consume soft and hard tissue. Scavengers physically degrade and remove soft tissue, disperse, and destroy skeletal elements, which can make locating remains challenging. While invertebrate activity has been largely investigated, there is limited quantitative data available on vertebrate activity, particularly in Canada. This study aimed to determine which species (vertebrate and invertebrate) belong to the scavenger guilds in southern Quebec, and their potential taphonomic impact on the decomposition process. Two independent trials were conducted in 2020 using pig carcasses: one during summer in a forest habitat and one during fall in a grassland habitat. Each carcass was placed a minimum 100 m apart in semi-rural land. Vertebrate scavenger activity was recorded by continuous surveillance using trail cameras. Carcasses were also regularly visited to monitor the decomposition process and the activity of invertebrate scavengers. Overall, the vertebrate scavenger guilds included a narrow range of corvids, turkey vultures, coyotes, and skunks. The intensity of vertebrate scavengers was greater in the grassland habitat (fall), while the intensity of invertebrate scavengers was greater in the forest habitat (summer). With the exception of invertebrate scavengers, very few species visited during the fresh stage of decomposition, and the probability of body displacement increased as decomposition progressed. These results identify which scavengers have the greatest taphonomic impact and highlight the importance of incorporating scavenger impact when searching for human remains.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The taphonomic impact of scavenger guilds in southern Quebec during summer and fall in two distinct habitats

Séguin

Durand-Guévin

Lavallée

et al. 2021

Journal of Forensic Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The third knowledge gap that we aimed to address in this study was the impact of different scavenging species on the consumption and loss of remains. Turkey vultures were the most prevalent scavengers across our trials and are one of the most commonly reported scavengers in other forensically relevant studies [4,[16][17][18][19]21].…”

Section: Impact Of Different Scavenging Species On the Consumption An...mentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Although forensically relevant scavenging studies have been conducted in many parts of the world including Europe and the UK [6][7][8], Africa [9][10][11], and the Pacific [12,13], the majority of studies are reported for North America and more precisely for the USA [2][3][4][5][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Such studies have focused on avian scavengers, such as black vultures, turkey vultures, and bald eagles [4,[16][17][18]21], and mammalian scavengers, such as the coyote [14,19,23,24], opossum [2,3,21], raccoon [2,20], striped skunk [2,25], bobcat [5], and feral cat [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal impact of scavenger guilds as taphonomic agents in central and northern Ontario, Canada

Forbes

Samson

Watson³

2022

Journal of Forensic Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The process of human decomposition is driven by biological decomposers, mainly bacteria, vertebrates, and invertebrate scavengers. When vertebrate scavengers have access to a body, they can considerably accelerate decomposition through consumption of soft tissue and dispersal of skeletal elements. Presently, there are limited data available on vertebrate scavenging activity in Canada, particularly in densely populated provinces such as Ontario. This study aimed to determine which vertebrate species belong to the scavenger guilds in central and northern Ontario, and the impact of season and habitat on these taphonomic agents. Seasonal trials were conducted in summer, fall, and spring of 2020/2021 with pig carcasses placed in open (grassland) and closed (forest) sites. Vertebrate scavenger activity was recorded continuously using cellular and non‐cellular trail cameras. Photographs were analyzed to identify species, quantify feeding intensity, and document scavenging behavior. We identified four mammalian scavengers, namely coyote, red fox, fisher, and pine marten, and three avian scavengers, namely bald eagle, turkey vulture, and American crows/northern ravens (grouped as corvids) across the trials. Season impacted scavenger presence with feeding and loss of soft tissue occurring more quickly in the summer, followed by spring and fall. None of the scavengers demonstrated a clear preference for the open versus closed sites. Our findings have identified the most prevalent vertebrate scavengers in central and northern Ontario and their taphonomic impact on soft and hard tissues. It is important to consider these agents and their ability to degrade and disperse remains during the search and recovery of human remains.

show abstract