RECREATING DEATH'S ACRE IN THE SCHOOL YARD: Using Pig Carcasses as Model Corpses<i>To Teach Concepts of Forensic Entomology &amp; Ecological Succession</i>

Schoenly, Kenneth G.; Haskell, Neal H.; Mills, David K.; Bieme-Ndi, Carine; Larsen, Kristie; Lee, Yer

doi:10.1662/0002-7685(2006)68[402:rdaits]2.0.co;2

Cited by 74 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…A tray with sawdust was placed underneath the cage to allow the collection of the immature flies that abandoned the carcass (see Figure 2) (Oliveira-Costa, 2011). Six pitfall traps surrounded each cage to capture the immature flies in dispersion (Schoenly et al, 2006). Pitfall traps were built with 2.5 liter plastic buckets, buried with their edges parallel to the floor and placed 1.0 m away from the cage and 1.0 m between them.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Diptera succession patterns onto partially burned and unburned pig carrion in southeastern Brazil

et al. 2014

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In the present contribution we compared the entomological succession pattern of a burned carcass with that of an unburned one. For that, we used domestic pig carcasses and focused on Calliphoridae, Muscidae and Sarcophagidae flies, because they are the ones most commonly used in Postmortem Interval estimates. Adult and immature flies were collected daily. A total of 27 species and 2,498 specimens were collected, 1,295 specimens of 26 species from the partially burned carcass and 1,203 specimens of 22 species from the control carcass (unburned). The species composition in the two samples differed, and the results of the similarity measures were 0.875 by Sorensen and 0.756 by Bray-Curtis index. The results obtained for both carcasses also differ with respect to the decomposition process, indicating that the post mortem interval would be underestimated if the entomological succession pattern observed for a carcass under normal conditions was applied to a carbonized carcass.Keywords: Forensic Entomology, post mortem interval, burnt carcass, Caliptratae, flies. Diferenças no padrão de sucessão de Diptera em carcaças de porco parcialmente carbonizadas e não carbonizadas ResumoNesta contribuição, nós comparamos o padrão de sucessão entomológica de uma carcaça carbonizada com outra não carbonizada. Para tal, nós usamos carcaças de porcos domésticos e focamos nos dípteros Calliphoridae, Muscidae e Sarcophagidae, por estes serem os grupos de insetos mais comumente usados na estimativa do intervalo pós-morte.Moscas adultas e seus imaturos foram coletados diariamente. Um total de 27 espécies e 2.498 espécimes foi coletado, 1.295 espécimes de 26 espécies na carcaça parcialmente carbonizada e 1.203 espécimes de 22 espécies na carcaça controle (não carbonizada). A composição específica das duas amostras foi diferente e os cálculos de similaridade resultantes foram 0,875 pelo índice de Sorensen e 0,756 pelo índice de Bray-Curtis. Os resultados obtidos para ambas as carcaças também diferiram em relação ao processo de decomposição, indicando que o intervalo pós-morte poderia ser subestimado se o padrão de sucessão entomológica observado na decomposição de uma carcaça sob condições normais fosse aplicado a uma carcaça carbonizada.Palavras-chave: Entomologia Forense, intervalo pós-morte, carcaça carbonizada, Caliptratae, moscas.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Diptera succession patterns onto partially burned and unburned pig carrion in southeastern Brazil

et al. 2014

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“…This purging event marks the shift from early decomposition to late decomposition. Purge is associated with an opening of the abdominal cavity to the environment [11], at which point, the rate of decay may greatly increase as larval flies remove large portions of tissues [2,[13][14][15][16]. The final stages of decomposition last through to complete skeletonization and are the driest stages [2,3,9,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Organisms that interact with cadavers are a product of factors such as geographic region, season, weather, and conditions of the cadaver [3,8,9]. A comprehensive database of organisms associated with cadavers in conjunction with seasonality and accumulated degree days to which a cadaver has been exposed for a particular geographical area can be vital information for criminal investigations if these organisms can be shown to colonize cadavers in a predictable fashion (as with insects and cadavers [2,[13][14][15][16]). Here, using next-generation sequencing techniques, we document diversity of surface bacterial communities of human cadavers left to decompose outdoors under natural conditions in the Pineywoods ecoregion of east Texas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial insights into bacterial succession during human decomposition

et al. 2014

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Decomposition is a dynamic ecological process dependent upon many factors such as environment, climate, and bacterial, insect, and vertebrate activity in addition to intrinsic properties inherent to individual cadavers. Although largely attributed to microbial metabolism, very little is known about the bacterial basis of human decomposition. To assess the change in bacterial community structure through time, bacterial samples were collected from several sites across two cadavers placed outdoors to decompose and analyzed through 454 pyrosequencing and analysis of variable regions 3-5 of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene. Each cadaver was characterized by a change in bacterial community structure for all sites sampled as time, and decomposition, progressed. Bacteria community structure is variable at placement and before purge for all body sites. At bloat and purge and until tissues began to dehydrate or were removed, bacteria associated with flies, such as Ignatzschineria and Wohlfahrtimonas, were common. After dehydration and skeletonization, bacteria associated with soil, such as Acinetobacter, were common at most body sites sampled. However, more cadavers sampled through multiple seasons are necessary to assess major trends in bacterial succession.

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“…Depending on the temperature and weather, gravid blow flies (Calliphoridae) deposit their eggs after few hours or days (Amendt et al, 2005;Benecke, 2005). They prefer natural body orifices (eyes, nose, mouth, ears and anus) and fresh wounds (Amendt et al, 2005;Schoenly et al, 2006). First instars hatch and start to feet on relatively fresh and moist tissue (Benecke, 2007).…”

Section: Colonization Of Carcasses and Submergencementioning

confidence: 99%

Upper Pleistocene blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) trapped in fossilized crania of large mammals discovered from gravel pits in the Rhine rift valley from Hesse (Germany)

Mähler

Wappler

Sanmugaraja

et al. 2016

Palaeontologia Electronica

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Fossil blow fly remains, discovered from cranial fragments of four Upper-Pleistocene large mammals (two Mammuthus primigenius, one Megaloceros giganteus and one Bos primigenius), could be identified as puparia of Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy). The material was discovered from fluvial deposits of the ancient Rhine near Darmstadt (Hessen, Germany). The preservation of the puparia is exceptional. The four individuals of large mammals died separately, but all cadavers lay for a certain time likely on dry ground or were sitting by or in shallow water or sediments in an approximated temperature of 10°C or higher (based on current data). During the decomposition, the cadavers were colonized by gravid blow flies, which deposited eggs on natural body orifices and open wounds. Larvae hatched, fed on moist tissue, passed all larval stages and pupated. Shortly after the emergence of the fully developed blow flies, mammal remains were submerged and embedded. Thus they were trapped for fossilisation. Most individuals of Protophormia terraenovae found inside the cranial fragments of Megaloceros giganteus had died inside their puparia maybe as a consequence of freezing, drowning or smothering.

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RECREATING DEATH'S ACRE IN THE SCHOOL YARD: Using Pig Carcasses as Model CorpsesTo Teach Concepts of Forensic Entomology & Ecological Succession

Cited by 74 publications

References 7 publications

Differential Diptera succession patterns onto partially burned and unburned pig carrion in southeastern Brazil

Differential Diptera succession patterns onto partially burned and unburned pig carrion in southeastern Brazil

Initial insights into bacterial succession during human decomposition

Upper Pleistocene blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) trapped in fossilized crania of large mammals discovered from gravel pits in the Rhine rift valley from Hesse (Germany)

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