Is Resource Change a Useful Predictor of Carrion Insect Succession on Pigs and Humans?

Dawson, BM; Wallman, JF; Evans, MJ; Barton, PS

Is Resource Change a Useful Predictor of Carrion Insect Succession on Pigs and Humans?

Dawson, BM Wallman, JF Evans, MJ Barton, PS

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Publisher:: OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: J Med Entomol, 2021, 58, (6), pp. 2228-2235
Issue Date:: 2021-11-09

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Dawson, BM
dc.contributor.author	Wallman, JF
dc.contributor.author	Evans, MJ
dc.contributor.author	Barton, PS
dc.date.accessioned	2022-02-09T18:52:07Z
dc.date.available	2022-02-09T18:52:07Z
dc.date.issued	2021-11-09
dc.identifier.citation	J Med Entomol, 2021, 58, (6), pp. 2228-2235
dc.identifier.issn	0022-2585
dc.identifier.issn	1938-2928
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/154353
dc.description.abstract	Carrion is a dynamic and nutrient-rich resource that attracts numerous insect species that undergo succession due to the rapid change in the carrion resource. Despite this process being well-understood, few studies have examined resource change as a driver of carrion insect succession, and instead have focused on the effects of time per se, or on coarse, qualitative measures such as decay stage. Here we report on three field succession experiments using pig carcasses and human cadavers encompassing two winters and one summer. We quantified the effects of resource change (measured as total body score, TBS), carrion type, initial carrion mass, ambient temperature, and season on insect species richness and community composition. We found that all variables had an effect on different taxonomic or trophic components of the insect community composition, with the exception of initial carrion mass which had no effect. We found significant positive effects of TBS on beetle species richness and composition, while fly species richness was not significantly affected by TBS, but was by ambient temperature. TBS had a significant positive effect on all trophic groups, while ambient temperature also had a significant positive effect on the necrophages and predator/parasitoids. Our study indicates that resource change, as indicated by TBS, is an important driver of carrion insect species turnover and succession on carrion, and that TBS can provide information about insect ecological patterns on carrion that other temporal measures of change cannot.
dc.format	Print
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LE150100015
dc.relation.ispartof	J Med Entomol
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1093/jme/tjab072
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	06 Biological Sciences, 11 Medical and Health Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Tropical Medicine
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Biota
dc.subject.mesh	Cadaver
dc.subject.mesh	Food Chain
dc.subject.mesh	Forensic Entomology
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Insecta
dc.subject.mesh	Larva
dc.subject.mesh	New South Wales
dc.subject.mesh	Population Dynamics
dc.subject.mesh	Seasons
dc.subject.mesh	Sus scrofa
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Sus scrofa
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Cadaver
dc.subject.mesh	Food Chain
dc.subject.mesh	Seasons
dc.subject.mesh	Population Dynamics
dc.subject.mesh	Larva
dc.subject.mesh	New South Wales
dc.subject.mesh	Biota
dc.subject.mesh	Insecta
dc.subject.mesh	Forensic Entomology
dc.title	Is Resource Change a Useful Predictor of Carrion Insect Succession on Pigs and Humans?
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	58
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-02-09T18:52:02Z
pubs.issue	6
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	58
utslib.citation.issue	6

Abstract:

Carrion is a dynamic and nutrient-rich resource that attracts numerous insect species that undergo succession due to the rapid change in the carrion resource. Despite this process being well-understood, few studies have examined resource change as a driver of carrion insect succession, and instead have focused on the effects of time per se, or on coarse, qualitative measures such as decay stage. Here we report on three field succession experiments using pig carcasses and human cadavers encompassing two winters and one summer. We quantified the effects of resource change (measured as total body score, TBS), carrion type, initial carrion mass, ambient temperature, and season on insect species richness and community composition. We found that all variables had an effect on different taxonomic or trophic components of the insect community composition, with the exception of initial carrion mass which had no effect. We found significant positive effects of TBS on beetle species richness and composition, while fly species richness was not significantly affected by TBS, but was by ambient temperature. TBS had a significant positive effect on all trophic groups, while ambient temperature also had a significant positive effect on the necrophages and predator/parasitoids. Our study indicates that resource change, as indicated by TBS, is an important driver of carrion insect species turnover and succession on carrion, and that TBS can provide information about insect ecological patterns on carrion that other temporal measures of change cannot.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/154353