A study on decomposition was carried out using two pig (Sus scrofa, L.) carcasses, a burned carcass and a control carcass, to determine the effects of carbonization on the succession of entomological species which colonize the carcass. This study was undertaken to enrich the data in the literature with regard to this subject. Carbonization was achieved by burning the treatment carcass on a stack of wood and the state of carbonization corresponded to the second-third level of the CrowGlassman Scale (CGS). The study was erformed in a rural area near the town of Pavia (north of Italy) approximately 300 meters from the Ticino River, between the months of June and September 2011. The area involved in the study was a noncultivated field whose vegetation mainly consists of grasses, while the surrounding area is used for agricultural activities; several trees (Robinia pseudoacacia) are also located nearby, along the riverbank. Both carcasses were placed inside a fenced area and each was protected by a metallic cage; around the carcasses six pit fall traps were placed and one air trap was positioned at about 50 meters from these, hanging from the branch of a tree. The period during which the study was conducted was characterized by significantly high temperatures (up to >35°C) and by a significant lack of precipitation, which, when it occurred, lasted only for a few days and was not abundant. Compared to the control carcass, the treatment carcass was much more attractive for Diptera, which reached it in a much shorter time and laid a great quantity of eggs. Oviposition on the burned carcass occurred inside the skin lacerations caused by the process of carbonization and did not occur in the primary sites, such as natural orifices, mouth and eyes, as occurred in the control carcass. There were no significant differences in regard to the species which colonized the carcasses, even if the control carcass presented a slightly higher number of colonizing species; however, the treatment carcass was much more abundantly colonized in a much shorter time compared to the control carcass and this caused it to degrade much more rapidly. The treatment carcass also attracted Coleoptera in a shorter time compared to the control, but the number of species collected was lower. Particularly interesting was the observation of how Dermestidae were collected on the burned carcass after only 3 days, while on the other carcass they were only found 9 days after the carcass was exposed. A similar situation is described in the literature, but it is hard to make a comparison because of the significantly different environmental conditions of the locations where the two projects were carried out. From a tanatological point of view, we observed a more rapid and complete degradation of the treatment carcass, which became completely skeletonized after only 10 days and all that was left at the end of the study were bones and some fragments of burned skin. The control carcass was characterized by a longer skeletonization time and its skin remained almost completely preserved as it was dehydrated.

Pig carbonization and necrophilous insects: comparison between a treatment pig (Sua scrofa L.) carcass and a control carcass

LAMBIASE, SIMONETTA
2012-01-01

Abstract

A study on decomposition was carried out using two pig (Sus scrofa, L.) carcasses, a burned carcass and a control carcass, to determine the effects of carbonization on the succession of entomological species which colonize the carcass. This study was undertaken to enrich the data in the literature with regard to this subject. Carbonization was achieved by burning the treatment carcass on a stack of wood and the state of carbonization corresponded to the second-third level of the CrowGlassman Scale (CGS). The study was erformed in a rural area near the town of Pavia (north of Italy) approximately 300 meters from the Ticino River, between the months of June and September 2011. The area involved in the study was a noncultivated field whose vegetation mainly consists of grasses, while the surrounding area is used for agricultural activities; several trees (Robinia pseudoacacia) are also located nearby, along the riverbank. Both carcasses were placed inside a fenced area and each was protected by a metallic cage; around the carcasses six pit fall traps were placed and one air trap was positioned at about 50 meters from these, hanging from the branch of a tree. The period during which the study was conducted was characterized by significantly high temperatures (up to >35°C) and by a significant lack of precipitation, which, when it occurred, lasted only for a few days and was not abundant. Compared to the control carcass, the treatment carcass was much more attractive for Diptera, which reached it in a much shorter time and laid a great quantity of eggs. Oviposition on the burned carcass occurred inside the skin lacerations caused by the process of carbonization and did not occur in the primary sites, such as natural orifices, mouth and eyes, as occurred in the control carcass. There were no significant differences in regard to the species which colonized the carcasses, even if the control carcass presented a slightly higher number of colonizing species; however, the treatment carcass was much more abundantly colonized in a much shorter time compared to the control carcass and this caused it to degrade much more rapidly. The treatment carcass also attracted Coleoptera in a shorter time compared to the control, but the number of species collected was lower. Particularly interesting was the observation of how Dermestidae were collected on the burned carcass after only 3 days, while on the other carcass they were only found 9 days after the carcass was exposed. A similar situation is described in the literature, but it is hard to make a comparison because of the significantly different environmental conditions of the locations where the two projects were carried out. From a tanatological point of view, we observed a more rapid and complete degradation of the treatment carcass, which became completely skeletonized after only 10 days and all that was left at the end of the study were bones and some fragments of burned skin. The control carcass was characterized by a longer skeletonization time and its skin remained almost completely preserved as it was dehydrated.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11571/579735
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