Analysis of Decomposition Fluid Collected from Carcasses Decomposing in the Presence and Absence of Insects

Comstock, JL; LeBlanc, HN; Forbes, SL

Analysis of Decomposition Fluid Collected from Carcasses Decomposing in the Presence and Absence of Insects

Comstock, JL LeBlanc, HN Forbes, SL

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Publisher:: Springer
Publication Type:: Chapter
Citation:: Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics. Soil Forensics, 2016, pp. 275 - 296
Issue Date:: 2016-09-08

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Comstock, JL	en_US
dc.contributor.author	LeBlanc, HN	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Forbes, SL https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7416-0080	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Kars, H	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Eijkel, LVD	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-09-08	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics. Soil Forensics, 2016, pp. 275 - 296	en_US
dc.identifier.isbn	3319331159	en_US
dc.identifier.isbn	9783319331157	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/104422
dc.description.abstract	Most decomposition studies investigate soft tissue degradation in the presence of insects, however several studies have shown that when insect activity is excluded from carcasses, the rate of decomposition slows down. The goal of this study was to explore the effect of insect activity on the chemical properties of decomposition fluid. Fluid was collected from pig (Sus scrofa) carcasses over the course of two summer trials (2011 and 2012) conducted in southern Ontario, Canada. The pH and conductivity were measured and fatty acids were analysed using Attenuated Total Reflectance- Infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. Results were compared between insect inclusion, partial exclusion, and complete exclusion carcass groups. The results indicate that the presence of insects increases the pH and decreases the conductivity of decomposition fluid. Spectral fatty acid results did not appear to vary greatly between experimental groups. The overall levels were not sufficiently different between carcass groups to conclude that the presence of insects played an important role in the fatty acid degradation process.	en_US
dc.publisher	Springer	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics. Soil Forensics	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/978-3-319-33115-7_18	en_US
dc.title	Analysis of Decomposition Fluid Collected from Carcasses Decomposing in the Presence and Absence of Insects	en_US
dc.type	Chapter
utslib.location	Germany	en_US
utslib.for	0399 Other Chemical Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CFS - Centre for Forensic Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.place-of-publication	Germany	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US

Abstract:

Most decomposition studies investigate soft tissue degradation in the presence of insects, however several studies have shown that when insect activity is excluded from carcasses, the rate of decomposition slows down. The goal of this study was to explore the effect of insect activity on the chemical properties of decomposition fluid. Fluid was collected from pig (Sus scrofa) carcasses over the course of two summer trials (2011 and 2012) conducted in southern Ontario, Canada. The pH and conductivity were measured and fatty acids were analysed using Attenuated Total Reflectance- Infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. Results were compared between insect inclusion, partial exclusion, and complete exclusion carcass groups. The results indicate that the presence of insects increases the pH and decreases the conductivity of decomposition fluid. Spectral fatty acid results did not appear to vary greatly between experimental groups. The overall levels were not sufficiently different between carcass groups to conclude that the presence of insects played an important role in the fatty acid degradation process.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/104422