a scoping review on factors affecting cadaveric decomposition … · a scoping review on factors...

Review ArticleVolume 2 Issue 2- : March 2017

J Forensic Sci & Criminal InvesCopyright © All rights are reserved by Lai Poh Soon

A Scoping Review on Factors Affecting Cadaveric Decomposition Rates

Lai Poh Soon1*, Khoo Lay See1, Nazni Wasi Ahmad2, Kharmila Abdullah3 and Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi4

1Department of Forensic Medicine, Hosp Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2Department of Forensic Entomology, Institute of Medical Research (IMR), Malaysia3Department of Forensic Pathologist, University of Science Islamic Malaysia (USIM), Malaysia4Department of Forensic Medicine, Hosp Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Submission: February 02, 2017; Published: March 09, 2017

*Corresponding author: Lai Poh Soon, Forensic Scientific Officer, Department of Forensic Medicine, National Institute of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Kuala Lumpur Jalan Pahang 50586 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tel: ; Email:

J Forensic Sci & Criminal Inves 2(2): JFSCI.MS.ID.555584 (2017) 001

IntroductionPost-mortem interval can be estimated using several

methods such as entomological study, post mortem changes and taphonomic study, biochemistry of tissues or body fluids from the cadaver etc. The importance of the determination of cadaveric decomposition rate is to enable the forensic pathologist and forensic scientist in estimating the time since death also

known as post-mortem interval. With estimation of postmortem interval, the investigating officer could narrow down the search of witness and suspects for a scene of crime or during the death investigation. There are many factors affecting the cadaveric decomposition rate including environmental factors and non-environmental factors. Environmental factors including weather (temperature, humidity etc.), indoor or outdoor, burial

Abstract

Introduction: The importance of the determination of cadaveric decomposition rate is to enable the forensic pathologist and forensic scientist in estimating the time since death also known as post-mortem interval. There are many factors affecting the cadaveric decomposition rate including environmental factors and non-environmental factors. This scoping review is to explore the relationship between the delaying or accelerating factors and the decomposition rate. Methods: It was conducted using framework suggested by Arksey and O’Maley. Comprehensive search was performed to identify published works and literatures. Inclusion criteria for the search were articles in English published from 2007 to 2016 and related to taphonomic study as well as the decomposition process and/or rate.

Results: A total of 2,893 titles were extracted from electronic databases and other resources and 41 articles were selected based on inclusion criteria. The variables and decomposition rates were generally varied between studies. Accelerating factors were mostly related to higher temperature including the summer season, rainy season, urban and desert area, sun-exposed on ground area, burning effect, enclosed vehicle as well as exposure to insects and scavenger activities. Decelerating factors often relied on the effect of the lower temperature such as winter season, deep coastal marine, underwater, highland and shaded area. It might also depend on the burial effect and other physical barriers by using heavy clothing, wrapping, lime and cement as well as the chemical barrier likewise the organophosphate (OP) pesticide etc.

Conclusion: There were emerging evidences on the affecting factors of the decomposition rate, although it was still very limited in tropical countries including Malaysia. Findings of this scoping review demonstrated that insect activities and temperature were the main factors affecting the overall decomposition rates except in the presence of physical barriers which might have contributed some variations to the decomposition rates.

Keywords: Environmental factor; Non-environmental factor; Taphonomy; Cadaver; Carcass; Decomposition rate

Abbreviations: OP: Organophosphate; MOH: Ministry of Health; IMR: Institute of Medical Research; USIM: University of Science Islamic Malaysia; NMRR: National Medical Research Registry Malaysia; MREC: Medical Research and Ethics Committee; ADD: Accumulated Degree Days; TBS: Total Body Scoring System; ADD: Accumulated Degree Days

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Journal of Forensic Sciences & Criminal Investigation

How to cite this article: Lai P S, Khoo L S, Nazni W A, Kharmila A, Ahmad H H. A Scoping Review on Factors Affecting Cadaveric Decomposition Rates. J Forensic Sci & Criminal Inves. 2017; 2(2): 555584.002

or underwater or above ground. Non-environmental factors including body mass/size, wrapping or unwrapped, clothing or unclothed and entomological effects.

There are factors delaying decomposition indicated by M Lee Goff [1] in which divided into physical, chemical and climatic barriers. A body buried in the soil does not decompose as quickly as one exposed on the surface due to the physical barriers. In a similar manner, a body enclosed in a sealed casket or placed into some form of sealed container will also exhibit a delayed decomposition. Embalming process is specifically and chemically designed to prevent the decomposition of the body, with natural body fluids being drained and replaced with various preservative fluids. Insecticides will not permanently delay the colonization of the body by insects. With regards to the climatic factors, at temperatures below 6oC most insect activity ceases but may resume once temperatures rise above this threshold. Wind speed in excess of 16 km/h will inhibit insect flight. Rainfall may also serve as a temporary barrier. Under conditions unfavourable for the colonisation of insects, such as concealment, low temperature or mummification, mites might become the most important or even the only arthropods on a dead body.

Zhou and Byard [2] have also describing the factors accelerating decomposition including exogenous and endogenous factors. Exogenous factors included exposure to elevated environmental temperatures, both outdoors and indoors, exacerbated by increased humidity or fires. Situations indoor involved exposure to central heating, hot water, saunas and electric blankets. Deaths within motor vehicles were also characterized by enhanced decomposition. Failure to quickly or adequately refrigerate bodies may also lead to early decomposition. Endogenous factors included fever, infections, illicit and prescription drugs, obesity and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. When these factors or conditions are identified at autopsy less significance should, therefore, be attached to changes of decomposition as markers of time since death. Therefore, the present review will explore the relationship between the delaying or accelerating factors and the decomposition rate. It is hoped that these findings will support future research on the decomposition changes and its affecting factors that might not been well-established to assist in the post-mortem interval estimation especially the homicidal cases.

Review objectives

The authors declared that there was no competing conflict of interests involved in this review. The review objectives were:

i. To identify significant factors affecting cadaveric decomposition rates.

ii. To determine the common indicators used in computing the cadaveric decomposition rates.

iii. To study the relationship between the contributing factors and decomposition rates.

MethodsThe design of the study is scoping review. Scoping review

aims to map rapidly the key concepts underpinning a research area and the main sources and types of evidence available especially when an area is complex or has not been reviewed comprehensively before. For the purpose of this topic, the scoping review is performed to identify the affecting factors, determine the indicators for decomposition rates and study relationships between both factors and decomposition rates. In this review, cadaver refers to the dead human bodies or animal carcasses that are left to the decomposition process whilst decomposition rate is defined as the time relapse from the first decomposition stage (fresh) to the final decomposition stage (skeletonisation) which based on the TBS scoring system or any of the observational systems. The 5 stages of the scoping review York Framework by Arskey and O’Maley include “Identifying the research questions”, “identifying relevant studies”, “study selection”, “charting the data” and “collating, summarising and reporting the results”. Consultation with reviewers from Ministry of Health (MOH), University of Science Islamic Malaysia (USIM) and Institute of Medical Research (IMR) are also conducted to enhance the review work undertaken by the research team members. The study was registered under the National Medical Research Registry Malaysia (NMRR) and the protocol was approved by the Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC) Malaysia (ID: NMRR-16-2310-33318).

Identifying the research questionsThe review questions were:

i. What are the major factors affecting cadaveric decomposition rates?

ii. How are the indicators used in computing the cadaveric decomposition rates?

iii. How the factors affecting the cadaveric decomposition rates?

Identifying the relevant studiesThe purpose of performing the scoping review was to

conduct a comprehensive search to identify primary studies (published work) and reviews. The research team members adopted a strategy for searching the evidence using different sources which included electronic databases and relevant research websites such as ProQuest, PubMed and Wiley. The searches also involved online journal articles and books focusing on taphonomic study in Forensic Science and Forensic Medicine. The researchers decided to set the coverage of the review based on the time span and language of the articles. Inclusion criteria for the search were articles in English from year 2007 till 2016 and studies that are consistent with research questions related



to taphonomic study as well as the decomposition process and/or rate are studied. The commencement date of 2007 was chosen in order to cover the recent 10 years findings and it was felt that the evidence on the decomposition rate was limited especially in Asian countries including Malaysia. Titles, abstracts and document text for eligibility were examined independently by the researchers. All type of studies were included in the search strategy. Unpublished articles or those written in the language other than English were excluded due to the cost and time that would be required to translate those documents. Studies that were irrelevant such as purely entomological methods and/or biochemical methods used were excluded. Key terms used in the search of articles were shown in Table 1 and Table 2.Table 1: PICO Table for MeSH term and text word term derivation.

PICO Initial Term MeSH Term Text Word Term

Population Cadaver Cadaver

Cadaver, Dead bod*, Animal*,

Carcass*, Corpse*, Carrion*

Intervention

Environment Environment Weather, Climate,

Temperature*, Humid*

Wrap*, Outdoor, Open area,

Indoor, Closed area, Burial,

Underground, Underground, Underwater, Under water,

Submerge, Immerse

Body mass, Body size,

Carcass mass, Carcass Size,

Cloth*, Cover*, Entomo*, Maggot*

non-

Environment

non-

Environment

Control Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable

Outcome Decomposition Postmortem Changes

Postmortem change*,

Postmortem interval*,

Putrefact*, Decay*,

Taphonom*, Decompos*,

Decomposition rate,

Decomposition stage*

Table 2: Keywords/Search Terms/Strings.

Strings 1 String 2

decompos* OR postmortem change* OR postmortem interval*

OR putrefact* OR decay* OR taphonom* AND cadaver* OR

dead bod* OR carcass* OR animal*

decompos* OR postmortem change* OR postmortem interval*

OR putrefact* OR decay* OR taphonom* OR cadaver* OR dead

bod* OR carcass* OR animal*

Study selectionThe study selection is based on the objectives of the study.

The review is focused on documents related to the factors including environmental and non-environmental factors affecting cadaveric decomposition rates. Based on the eligible abstracts, copies of full articles were retrieved. The full articles is checked by the researchers as to whether appeared to answer the research questions of the study. Selected full articles were then read by the researchers in order to select the final full articles for the review.

Charting the dataGeneral and specific information about the studies is charted

which include authors(s), year of publication, types of affecting factors, objectives or aims of the study, country of study location, study population/sample, sample size including comparison group (if any), methods/instruments and indicators used in the study and findings that were relevant to the objectives of the review.

Collating, summarising and reporting the resultsThe characteristics of the results from the selected articles

from various countries are described based on the design, types and outcomes of each study. The findings of the review were presented in table. Table of evidence on the factors affecting the cadaveric decomposition rates and their relationships with measurements and indicators that are used to describe the various approaches or methods to determine the decomposition rate. Limitation of several studies and research gaps are also identified in order to generate useful knowledge on the taphonomy and post-mortem interval estimation.

ResultsTable 3 shoed a total of 2,893 titles were extracted from

the selected electronic databases and other resources using the search terms. As portrayed in Figure 1, 59 abstracts were included after the initial screening process and the rest were excluded as they were irrelevant with regards to the decomposition changes or rates, non-English articles, and duplicates. Among these 41 articles met the inclusion criteria in the review, environment factors and non-environmental factors were studied with total of 20 articles and 17 articles respectively. The rest of 4 articles were focus on mixed factors. The studies in this review were equally focus on both environmental factors and non-environmental factors. Most of the environmental aspects surveyed the climate



factors especially the temperate/tropical climate, dry and wet/rainy seasons, habitats/locations and burial effect. Additionally, researchers emphasize to explore the non-environment factors including the scavenger or insect effect, clothing, wrapping, lime or cement effect, burning effect. Countries of origin of the studies included Malaysia, Europe (United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Belgium), America (United States, Canada, Colombia, and Brazil), Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kuwait), South Africa, Australia and China. Table 3: Search History.

Database /Search Date

Coverage / Search terms (Year 2007 –

2016)

Total search / Total selected

ProQuest (20/11/16 6PM)

Document Textft(Cadaver, Dead Bod*,

Animal*,Carcass*, Corpse*)

AND ft((Postmortem change*, Postmortem interval*, Putrefact*, Decay*, Taphonom*

OR Decompos*, Decomposition rate,

Decomposition stage*))

56 titles /8 selected

PubMed (20/12/16 6PM)

Title / Abstract((decompos*[Title/

Abstract] OR postmortem

change*[Title/Abstract] OR postmortem

interval*[Title/Abstract] OR

putrefact*[Title/Abstract] OR decay*[Title/Abstract] OR

taphonom*[Title/Abstract])) AND (cadaver*[Title/

Abstract] OR dead bod*[Title/Abstract]

OR carcass*[Title/Abstract] OR

animal*[Title/Abstract])

2,236 titles /37 selected

Wiley(29/12/16 3PM)

Abstractdecompos* OR

postmortem change* OR postmortem

interval* OR putrefact* OR decay* OR

taphonom* in Abstract AND cadaver* OR dead

bod* OR carcass* OR animal*

601 titles /15 selected

Figure 1: Flow chart of scoping review.

All the articles in this review were using animal carcasses as subjects except Jeong Y et al. [3] using human cadavers to study on scavenger effects during summer season. Majority (26 articles) using swine / pig carcasses as subjects, followed by rabbit carcasses (10 articles) and minority were using monkey and other animal carcasses. The measurement of indicators for each studies were primarily on the comparison of time taken to different decomposition stages, however, some researchers were also using total body scoring (TBS) system in 6 articles as the decomposition scoring methods. Part of the studies utilised different approaches such as decomposition changes by observation, mass/weight loss, first colonisation of insects, insect richness, insect residency time, insect succession patterns and taxa variation. In this review, there were 14 full text articles, out of the 41 selected articles, available online and free for open access. The list of these articles was elucidated in a summary format as shown in the Table 4. In terms of environmental factors focusing on temperate climate variables, the decomposition rate have remarkably slowed down during winter season compared to the other three seasons. According to Meyer J et al. [4], summer season with greater temperature have enhanced the decomposition rate from triple to septuple to reach the dry remains or skeletonisation stage which consistent with the findings by Wang J et al. [5].

Some articles reported an extreme difference between summer and winter seasons whereby pig carcasses reached the dry stage within 8 days but still maintained in bloating stage at Day 133 [6]. Although first insect colonisation started after 15 weeks during winter season, the bacteria activity have actively occurred throughout the first 5 weeks of decomposition at low temperature. However some have reported pig carcasses reached the skeletonised stage at Day 60 in winter season compared to summer season at Day 27 with all the soft tissues completely lost by decomposition. There was no significant difference among spring, summer and fall seasons, yet faster decomposition rate and higher insect richness were encountered during summer season followed by spring and fall seasons for both pig and rabbit



carcasses. Rabbit carcasses which were in smaller size consumed 21 days and 28 days to reach the dry stage compared to 26 days and 42 days for pig carcasses during summer and spring seasons respectively. In some equatorial or tropical countries [7,8], the wet or rainy season have caused the more rapid decomposition

compared to dry season. It showed common decomposition rate for both seasons during the fresh and bloated stage, however the conversion of later decaying stages till the dry stage was relatively faster during the wet or rainy season.

No

Auth

ors

(Yea

r)St

udy

Titl

esAf

fect

ing

Fact

ors

Inde

pend

ent

Vari

able

sOb

ject

ives

/ Ai

ms

Stud

y Po

pula

tion/

Sa

mpl

e Si

ze/

Com

pari

son

Met

hods

/ In

stru

men

ts/

Indi

cato

rs

Rela

tions

hip

to

Deco

mpo

sitio

n Ra

tes/

Fin

ding

s

1Ia

ncu

L et

al

. [27

]

Usin

g b

acte

rial

an

d ne

crop

hago

us

inse

ct d

ynam

ics

for p

ost-

mor

tem

inte

rval

es

timat

ion

duri

ng

cold

seas

on:

Nov

el ca

se st

udy

in

Rom

ania

Envi

ronm

enta

l: Se

ason

(Win

ter v

s Sp

ring

)

Outd

oor

expe

rim

ent i

n te

mpe

rate

cl

imat

e re

gion

of

an

urba

n na

tura

l en

viro

nmen

t of

Buc

hare

st,

Rom

ania

.(N

ov

2012

- M

ay

2013

)

To

stud

y su

cces

sion

of n

ecro

phag

ous

inse

ct

spec

ies

and

bac

teri

al

com

mun

ities

in

habi

ting

the

rect

um a

nd m

outh

cavi

ties

n =

3 2

fem

ales

and

1 m

ale

swin

e ca

rcas

ses

(Sus

scro

fa

dom

estic

us)

15kg

eac

h a

nd b

eing

ab

out 3

mon

ths

old,

pu

t on

grou

nd

with

in ca

ges.

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e w

hen

first

co

loni

zing

or

gani

sm

arri

ved

Met

hods

:1.

N

ecro

phag

ous

Dipt

era

and

Cole

opte

ra

iden

tifie

d by

mor

phol

ogic

al

and

gene

tic

char

acte

riza

tion.

2. B

acte

rial

co

mm

uniti

es

iden

tifie

d by

de

natu

ring

gr

adie

nt g

el

elec

trop

hore

sis

(DGG

E)

and

16S

rRNA

gen

e fr

agm

ent

sequ

enci

ng.

The

first

co

loni

zing

w

ave,

pri

mar

ily

Calli

phor

idae

, was

obs

erve

d a

fter 1

5 w

eeks

whe

n th

e te

mpe

ratu

re in

crea

sed

to 1

3°C.

Fa

mili

es b

elon

ging

to

Col

eopt

era

Ord

er st

artin

g w

ith C

leri

dae

and

Silp

hida

e w

ere

obse

rved

at w

eek

18 w

hen

tem

per

atur

es ra

ised

ab

ove

18°C

.

Met

abol

ic

activ

ity o

f an

aero

bic

bac

teri

a be

ing

inhi

bite

d b

y th

e lo

w te

mp

erat

ures

. Th

ree

cold

-ada

pted

env

iron

men

tal

bac

teri

a P.

artic

us, P

. cib

ariu

s, P.

cryo

halo

lent

is w

hich

app

eare

d a

t the

be

ginn

ing

of th

e fr

eezi

ng p

erio

d (w

eeks

1-5

) may

cons

titut

e p

utat

ive

mic

robi

al m

arke

rs fo

r inv

estig

atio

ns

of p

ost-

mor

tem

inte

rval

dur

ing

the

cold

seas

on

Table 4: Environmental and non-environmental factors affecting the decomposition rates.



2Ba

rrio

s M

et a

l. [2

8]

Initi

al

stud

y of

art

hrop

ods

succ

essi

on

and

pig

carr

ion

deco

mpo

sitio

n in

two

fres

hwat

er

ecos

yste

ms

in th

e Co

lom

bian

An

des

Envi

ronm

enta

l: A

stre

am

(lotic

) vs

an

artif

icia

l la

ke (l

entic

)

Fres

hwat

er

ecos

yste

ms

in th

e Co

lom

bian

And

es,

at a

n al

titud

eof

26

14m

.(J

an -

Apri

l 2

007)

To

estim

ate

the

post

-mor

tem

su

bmer

sion

in

terv

al in

two

fres

hw

ater

eco

syst

ems

n =

2 20

-kg

pig

carc

asse

s k

illed

w

ith a

bul

let

wou

ndto

the

thor

acic

zon

e fr

om a

9-

mm

fire

arm

an

d pl

ace

d 68

m

apar

t w

ithin

met

al

cage

s.

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e ta

ken

to sk

elet

al re

mai

ns

Stag

e of

de

com

posi

tion:

Su

bmer

ged

fres

h,

Early

Fl

oatin

g,

Floa

ting

Dec

ay,

Bloa

ted

Dete

rior

atio

n,

Floa

ting

Rem

ains

and

Su

nken

Rem

ains

.

Deco

mpo

sitio

n tim

e to

skel

etal

rem

ains

w

as 8

0 da

ys in

the

stre

am a

nd 7

4 da

ys in

th

e la

ke.

Subm

erge

d Fr

esh

(day

s 1-8

in th

e st

rea

m a

nd

1-5

in th

e la

ke)

Early

Flo

atin

g (d

ays 9

-24

in th

e st

ream

and

6-1

7 in

the

lake

)Fl

oatin

g de

cay

(day

s 25-

43 in

the

stre

am a

nd d

ays

18-4

0 in

the

lake

)Bl

oate

d de

teri

orat

ion

(day

s 44-

51

in th

e st

ream

an

d 4

1-48

in th

e la

ke)

Floa

ting

rem

ains

(day

s 52-

61 in

the

stre

am a

nd 4

9-60

in th

e la

ke)

Sunk

en re

mai

ns (d

ays 6

2-80

in th

e st

ream

and

61

-74

in th

e la

ke)



3Se

gura

NA

et a

l. [2

9]

Succ

essi

on

patt

ern

of

cada

vero

us

ento

mof

auna

in a

sem

i-r

ural

are

a of

Bo

gotá

, Col

ombi

a

Envi

ronm

enta

l: Cl

imat

e

Sem

i-rur

al

area

of

Bog

otá

at

2700

m a

bove

sea

-leve

l, a

vera

ge

tem

pera

ture

of

14°C

(3

°C-2

7°C)

, R

H 7

3.25

%

and

ann

ual

rain

fall

of 7

90m

m.

(Feb

20

06

- May

200

6)

To e

xam

ine

the

succ

essi

on

of in

sect

s co

loni

zing

ca

dave

rs

n =

4 Co

ntro

l = 1

(n

o ar

thro

pod

colle

cted

) and

Sa

mpl

es =

3.

12kg

pig

s (Su

s sc

rofa

) wer

e sh

ot a

nd p

ut

into

met

allic

m

esh

cage

s.

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e ta

ken

to d

ecom

posi

tion

stag

es.

Met

hods

: Sa

mpl

ing

was

don

e on

ce a

da

y du

ring

the

firs

t 18

days

an

d th

en e

ach

2 da

ys u

ntil

deco

mpo

sitio

n da

y 31

. It w

as th

en

carr

ied

out t

wic

e a

wee

k un

til d

ay 4

9 an

d th

en o

nce

a w

eek

until

de

com

posi

tion

day

97.

Arth

ropo

ds

wer

e co

llect

ed

from

abo

ve,

arou

nd a

nd b

elow

th

e ca

dave

rs

to a

naly

se

abun

danc

e of

the

all

arth

ropo

ds.

Egg

mas

ses a

nd 1

st st

age

Calli

phor

idae

larv

ae

wer

e as

soci

ated

with

the

fres

h st

age

of

deco

mpo

sitio

n (D

ay 1

-3),

1st a

nd 2

nd st

age

larv

ae o

f Cal

lipho

rida

e an

d Sa

rcop

hagi

dae

duri

ng ch

rom

atic

and

em

phys

emat

ous

stag

es (D

ay 4

-10)

, im

mat

ure

Chry

som

ya

albi

ceps

(Dip

tera

: Cal

lipho

rida

e), O

phyr

a sp

. (D

ipte

ra: M

usci

dae)

and

Oxe

llytr

um d

iscic

olle

(C

oleo

pter

a: S

ilphi

dae)

dur

ing

the

colli

quat

ive

stag

e (D

ay 1

1-20

) and

mai

nly

Cole

opte

ra

duri

ng th

e sk

elet

izat

ion

phas

e (D

ay 2

1-97

).

One

fact

or a

naly

sis o

f var

ianc

e sh

ared

th

at th

ere

wer

e no

stat

istic

ally

sign

ifica

nt

diffe

renc

es b

etw

een

the

abun

danc

e of

the

all a

rthr

opod

s col

lect

ed fr

om th

e th

ree

pigs

du

ring

the

deco

mpo

sitio

n (A

NOV

A, F

=0.

13,

df=2

, n =

5981

, P >

0.05

).



4

Shar

an-

owsk

i BJ

et a

l. [3

0]

Inse

ct

succ

essi

on

and

deco

mp-

ositi

on

patt

erns

on

shad

ed a

nd

sunl

it c

arri

on in

Sas

kat-

chew

an

in th

ree

diffe

rent

se

ason

s

Envi

ron-

men

tal:

Seas

on- (

spri

ng,

sum

mer

, fal

l) an

d H

abita

t (su

n vs

sh

ade)

Univ

ersi

ty o

f Sa

skat

chew

an

in S

aska

toon

, he

art o

f the

M

oist

Mix

ed

Gras

slan

d Ec

oreg

ion

of

the

Prai

rie

Ecoz

one

of

Cana

da. (

May

- O

ct 2

000)

To st

udy

inse

ct

succ

essi

on a

nd

deco

mpo

sitio

n pa

tter

ns

for f

utur

e ho

mic

ide

inve

stig

atio

ns

in S

aska

t-ch

ewan

regi

on

n =

18

Dom

estic

pig

ca

rcas

ses

(Sus

scro

fa

Linn

aeus

) w

eigh

ed 4

2-79

kg

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e ta

ken

to

deco

mpo

sitio

n st

ages

.

Met

hods

: Re

sear

ch w

as

cond

ucte

d ov

er

25 w

eeks

. For

ea

ch o

f the

3

seas

ons,

3 sh

aded

and

3

fully

sunl

it si

tes

wer

e se

lect

ed.

Site

s for

carc

ass

plac

emen

t wer

e ch

osen

on

frin

ge

area

s, w

ithin

sh

rubs

aw

ay

from

the

crop

s (s

hade

d si

tes)

, or

on

the

edge

s of

culti

vate

d la

nd

(sun

lit si

tes)

. Ea

ch si

te w

as

50m

aw

ay.

Fres

h (in

Sp

ring

day

s 0-1

for S

unlit

and

0-2

for S

hade

d); (

in S

umm

er

days

0 fo

r bot

h);

(in F

all d

ays 0

-2 fo

r Su

nlit

and

0-3

for

Sha

ded)

Bloa

ted

(in S

prin

g da

ys 2

-12

for S

unlit

and

3-1

5 fo

r Sh

aded

); (in

Sum

mer

day

s 1-4

for b

oth)

; (in

Fal

l day

s 3-

10 fo

r Sun

lit a

nd 4

-10

for S

hade

d)Ac

tive

Deca

y (in

Spr

ing

days

13-

30 fo

r Sun

lit

and

16-3

5 fo

r Sha

ded)

; (in

Sum

mer

day

s 5-

11 fo

r bot

h); (

in F

all d

ays 1

1->5

4 fo

r bot

h)Ad

vanc

ed D

ecay

(in

Spri

ng d

ays 3

1-42

for

Sunl

it an

d 36

-45

for S

hade

d);

(in S

umm

er d

ays 1

2-25

for b

oth)

Dry

(in S

prin

g da

ys 4

2->6

3 fo

r Sun

lit a

nd 4

6->6

3 fo

r Sha

ded)

; (in

Sum

mer

day

s 26-

>43

for b

oth)

Resu

lts in

dica

ted

that

hab

itat

was

onl

y a

fact

or in

the

deco

mpo

sitio

nal

rate

of c

arri

on in

the

spri

ng se

ason

. T

he a

mbi

ent t

empe

ratu

re

was

the

chie

f fac

tor d

eter

min

ing

the

seas

onal

va

riat

ions

in

deca

y ra

te.

Car

cass

es

plac

ed in

spri

ng a

nd fa

ll at

tra

cted

a

mor

e di

vers

e as

sem

blag

e of

inse

cts t

han

sum

mer

-pl

aced

ca

rrio

n.Su

n-ex

pose

d ca

rrio

n ha

d gr

eate

r var

iatio

n in

faun

a th

an

sha

ded

carr

ion

in sp

ring

and

fall.



5An

ders

on

GS e

t al.

[31]

Deep

coas

tal

mar

ine

taph

onom

y:

inve

stig

atio

n in

to ca

rcas

s de

com

posi

tion

in

the

Saan

ich

Inle

t, Br

itish

Col

umbi

a us

ing

a ba

ited

cam

era.

Envi

ronm

enta

l: Di

ssol

ved

oxyg

en

leve

ls

Saan

ich

Inle

t, BC

, ove

r 3

year

s util

izin

g Oc

ean

Net

wor

k Ca

nada

’s VE

NUS

ob

serv

ator

y

To st

udy

the

carc

ass

deco

mpo

sitio

n in

dee

p co

asta

l mar

ine

envi

ronm

ent

n =

3 Pi

g ca

rcas

ses

(Sus

scro

fa)

Carc

ass 1

&

2 (t

oler

able

ox

ygen

leve

l)Ca

rcas

s 3

(ext

rem

ely

anoi

c)

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e ta

ken

to

skel

eton

ized

stag

e

Met

hods

: Eac

h ca

rcas

s was

de

ploy

ed in

la

te su

mm

er/

early

fall

at 9

9 m

un

der a

rem

otel

y co

ntro

lled

cam

era

and

obse

rved

se

vera

l tim

es a

da

y

Carc

ass 1

was

rapi

dly

scav

enge

d th

en

drag

ged

from

vie

w b

y Da

y 22

. Car

cass

2 w

as

scav

enge

d in

a si

mila

r fas

hion

. Exp

osed

tiss

ue

beca

me

cove

red

by O

rcho

men

ella

obt

usa

(Fam

ily L

ysia

nass

idae

) whi

ch re

mov

ed a

ll th

e in

tern

al ti

ssue

s rap

idly

. Car

cass

3 re

mai

ning

in

tact

, dev

elop

ing

a th

ick

filam

ento

us

sulp

hur b

acte

rial

mat

, unt

il Da

y 92

, whe

n it

was

skel

eton

ized

by

crus

tace

a. C

arca

ss 3

w

as d

eplo

yed

whe

n th

e w

ater

was

alr

eady

ex

trem

ely

anox

ic, w

hich

pre

vent

ed la

rger

cr

usta

cea

from

acc

essi

ng th

e ca

rcas

s.



6Si

mm

ons

T et

al.

[17]

The

influ

ence

of

inse

cts o

n de

com

posi

tion

rate

in b

urie

d an

d su

rfac

e re

mai

ns.

Envi

ronm

enta

l: Bu

ried

vs s

urfa

ce

Pres

ton

PR1

2HE,

UK

(May

- Ju

ly

2008

)

To co

nduc

t co

mpa

rativ

e st

udy

of

deco

mpo

sitio

n ra

tes

n =

24

Wild

rabb

it (O

ryct

olag

us

cuni

culu

s). 6

for

each

cate

gory

(i)

to (i

v)

Indi

cato

rs: T

otal

Bo

dy S

core

(T

BS) e

very

c.

50 a

ccum

ulat

ed

degr

ee d

ays (

ADD)

Met

hods

: (i)

buri

ed (3

5 cm

de

pth)

afte

r ex

posu

re to

inse

ct

activ

ity, (

ii) b

urie

d w

ithou

t exp

osur

e,

(iii)

kept

abo

ve

grou

nd b

ehin

d an

in

sect

scre

en, o

r (iv

) con

tinuo

usly

ex

pose

d ab

ove

grou

nd in

a fi

eld

expe

rim

ent.

Resu

lts sh

owed

that

dip

tera

n ov

ipos

ition

oc

curr

ed co

nsis

tent

ly in

gro

ups i

and

iv

only

. Dec

ompo

sitio

n ra

tes o

f rab

bits

kep

t be

hind

the

scre

en a

nd th

ose

buri

ed w

ithou

t ex

posu

re sh

owed

no

diffe

renc

e (p

= 0

.450

). Th

is w

as si

gnifi

cant

ly sl

ower

than

thos

e bu

ried

afte

r exp

osur

e (p

= 0

.001

6) w

hich

w

as in

turn

sign

ifica

ntly

slow

er th

an th

ose

cont

inuo

usly

exp

osed

(p <

< 0.

001)

. Ins

ect

pres

ence

is th

e pr

imar

y ag

ent a

ffect

ing

deco

mpo

sitio

n ra

te v

ia ti

ssue

cons

umpt

ion

and

also

the

heat

they

gen

erat

e. R

esul

ts

show

ed si

gnifi

cant

diff

eren

ces (

p <<

0.0

01) i

n de

com

posi

tion

rate

s bet

wee

n ca

rcas

ses w

ith

and

with

out i

nsec

t acc

ess p

rior

to b

uria

l. An

ap

prox

imat

ely

30%

enh

ance

d de

com

posi

tion

rate

with

inse

cts w

as o

bser

ved.

7An

ders

on

GS [9

]

Impa

ct o

f Mar

ine

Subm

erge

nce

and

Seas

on

on F

auna

l Co

loni

zatio

n an

d De

com

posi

tion

of

Pig

Carc

asse

s in

the

Salis

h Se

a.

Envi

ronm

enta

l: Se

ason

(spr

ing

vs

fall)

and

Expo

sed

vs ca

ged

Mar

ine

Subm

erge

nce

in S

trai

t of

Geor

gia

(Feb

201

0 - O

ct

2013

)

To st

udy

the

impa

ct

of m

arin

e su

bmer

genc

e an

d se

ason

on

faun

al

colo

niza

tion

and

deco

mpo

sitio

n

n =

4 Pi

g ca

rcas

ses

depl

oyed

2 in

sp

ring

(exp

osed

+

cage

d) a

nd 2

in

fall

(exp

osed

+

cage

d)

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e ta

ken

to

skel

eton

ized

stag

e

Met

hods

: Pla

ced

on th

e se

abed

at

a de

pth

of 3

00 m

in

Oce

an N

etw

ork

Cana

da’s

Vict

oria

Ex

peri

men

tal

Net

wor

k un

der t

he se

a ob

serv

ator

y. On

e of

eac

h ca

tego

ry

fully

exp

osed

, the

ot

her c

over

ed in

a

barr

ed ca

ge to

pr

otec

t it f

rom

sh

arks

.

Imm

edia

tely

afte

r dep

loym

ent a

ll ca

rcas

ses,

in b

oth

spri

ng a

nd fa

ll, w

ere

very

rapi

dly

cove

red

in v

ast n

umbe

rs o

f lys

siana

ssid

am

phip

ods.

Thes

e st

udie

s hav

e sh

own

that

in

high

ly o

xyge

nate

d de

eper

wat

ers,

amph

ipod

s ha

d sk

elet

oniz

ed th

e ca

rcas

ses b

y Da

y 3

in fa

ll an

d Da

y 4

in sp

ring

.



8Va

nin

S et

al

. [24

]

Deco

mpo

sitio

n an

d en

tom

olog

ical

co

loni

zatio

n of

ch

arre

d bo

dies

- a

pilo

t stu

dy.

Envi

ronm

enta

l: Se

ason

s (w

inte

r an

d su

mm

er)

Non

-en

viro

nmen

tal:

Burn

ing

Fiel

d in

the

outs

kirt

s of

Mila

n, in

w

inte

r and

su

mm

er 2

007.

To a

pply

fo

rens

ic

ento

mol

ogic

al

appr

oach

to

estim

ate

the

post

mor

tem

in

terv

al (P

MI)

in

burn

t rem

ains

.

n =

4 Co

ntro

l = 2

(u

nbur

nt) a

nd

Subj

ect =

2

(bur

nt)

60-k

g pi

g ca

rcas

ses (

Sus

scro

fa)

Indi

cato

rs:

Deco

mpo

sitio

n ch

ange

s and

fir

st co

loni

satio

n pe

riod

Met

hods

: Tw

o fo

r ea

ch e

xper

imen

t. On

e pi

g ca

rcas

s w

as b

urnt

unt

il it

reac

hed

the

leve

l 2-3

of t

he

Glas

sman

-Cro

w

scal

e, a

nd u

nbur

nt

as th

e co

ntro

l.

In th

e W

inte

r par

t of t

he e

xper

imen

t, th

e fir

st

inse

ct a

ctiv

ity o

n th

e bu

rnt c

arca

ss b

egan

in

the

Day

18 (C

allip

hora

vom

itori

a). O

n Da

y 26

, a cl

ear r

educ

tion

of th

e tis

sues

in se

vera

l bo

dy re

gion

s (he

ad, t

hora

x, a

nd a

bdom

en)

was

obs

erve

d. T

wo

mon

ths a

fter t

he e

xpos

ure

(Day

60)

, the

bon

es w

ere

clea

n an

d on

ly

a fe

w re

mai

ns o

f bur

nt sk

in a

nd m

uscl

es

wer

e st

ill p

rese

nt. C

ontr

ol p

igs w

ith in

itial

pu

tref

activ

e st

age

was

det

ecte

d at

the

end

of

the

seco

nd w

eek.

In th

ird

wee

k, a

mod

erat

e em

phys

emat

ic p

hase

in th

e he

ad re

gion

an

d di

scha

rge

of d

ecom

posi

tion

fluid

s fro

m

the

mou

th w

as o

bser

ved.

In th

e ab

dom

inal

re

gion

, the

beg

inni

ng o

f a co

lliqu

ativ

e ph

ase

was

obs

erve

d.

In th

e Su

mm

er p

art,

adul

t flie

s and

firs

t in

star

mag

gots

(Pho

rmia

regi

na) a

ppea

red

a fe

w m

inut

es/h

ours

. Fir

st co

loni

zatio

n w

ave

(Cal

lipho

rida

e) a

ppea

red

on b

urnt

and

cont

rol

pigs

at t

he sa

me

time.

Afte

r one

wee

k (D

ay 6

), th

e ca

rrio

n sh

owed

som

e cl

ear s

kele

toni

zed

area

s (he

ad, t

hora

x). A

fter t

he fi

rst w

eek,

the

rate

of s

kele

toni

satio

n an

d th

e ex

posu

re o

f bo

nes s

low

ed d

own.

In th

e fo

urth

wee

k (D

ay

27),

soft

tissu

es w

ere

alm

ost c

ompl

etel

y lo

st,

exce

pt fo

r lar

ge fr

agm

ents

of d

ry o

r bur

nt

skin

. Afte

r 6 w

eeks

, the

cont

rol p

ig sh

owed

ab

out 4

0% sk

elet

onis

atio

n.



9Te

o CH

et

al. [

15]

Post

mor

tem

ch

ange

s in

rela

tion

to

diffe

rent

type

s of

clot

hing

Envi

ronm

enta

l: Gr

ound

vs B

uria

l at

30

cm d

epth

gr

aves

Non

-en

viro

nmen

tal:

Type

of c

loth

ing

(No

clot

hing

, lig

ht cl

othi

ng a

nd

heav

y cl

othi

ng)

Loca

tion

at

Univ

ersi

ti Ke

bang

san

Mal

aysi

a,

Bang

i, Se

lang

or

To st

udy

the

effe

ct o

f bur

ial

and

type

of

clot

hing

on

rate

of

deco

mpo

sitio

n,

whi

ch ca

n co

ntri

bute

to

estim

atin

g PM

I fo

r vic

tims

n =

12

Cont

rols

= 3

(g

roun

d) a

nd

Subj

ects

= 9

(b

urie

d) fo

r ea

ch cl

othi

ng

grou

ps.

Rabb

its

(Ory

ctol

agus

cu

nicu

lus)

w

eigh

ing

2-3k

g.

Indi

cato

rs: T

otal

Bo

dy S

core

(TBS

).

Met

hods

: Bur

ied

subj

ects

wer

e ex

hum

ed a

t 2nd

w

eek

(reb

urie

d),

4th

wee

k (r

ebur

ied)

and

6th

w

eek.

Cont

rol:

Day

3 an

d 4:

colo

nize

d by

ant

s.(i)

Hea

d an

d N

eck

regi

on -

Day

5: C

avin

g in

ap

pear

ance

; Day

6: B

one

expo

sure

. (ii

) Bod

y Tr

unk

regi

onDa

y 4:

Blo

ated

; Day

6: F

ur d

etac

hmen

t; Da

y 8:

Cav

ing

in a

ppea

ranc

e; D

ay 9

(sco

re to

stop

at

8/3

5): t

he sk

in u

nder

wen

t mum

mifi

catio

n w

ith d

ark

brow

n co

lour

slow

ly fa

ding

into

lig

ht b

row

n by

the

end

of th

e st

udy.

Full

skel

eton

isat

ion

of th

e bo

dy tr

unk

unde

r the

m

umm

ified

skin

with

no

inte

rnal

org

an.

(iii)

Fore

limb

and

Hin

dlim

b re

gion

,Da

y 5:

Bon

e ex

posu

re a

nd sm

all a

mou

nts o

f ha

rden

ed sk

in st

ill co

uld

be o

bser

ved

at th

e jo

ints

by

the

end

of st

udy;

Day

10:

TBS

scor

e w

as 3

0/35

. Su

bjec

t: Af

ter s

ix w

eek

to re

ach

aver

age

scor

e of

ove

r 30/

35.

SPSS

ana

lysi

s sho

wed

that

the

buri

al fa

ctor

w

as si

gnifi

cant

in a

ffect

ing

the

TBS

scor

e,

F(l,l

l)=12

.991

, p<0

.05

with

obs

erve

d po

wer

of D

ay*B

uria

l fac

tor w

as 0

.906

or

90.6

%. H

owev

er ty

pe o

f clo

thin

g di

d no

t sh

ow si

gnifi

cant

diff

eren

ces a

mon

g ty

pes

of cl

othi

ng, F

(2,9

)=0.

022,

p=0

.978

and

co

mbi

natio

n of

bur

ial a

nd ty

pe o

f clo

thin

g fa

ctor

s als

o w

as n

ot si

gnifi

cant

, F(2

,3)=

0.42

9,

p=0.

686.



10

Scho

t-sm

ans

EM e

t al.

[32]

Long

-term

effe

cts

of h

ydra

ted

lime

and

quic

klim

e on

the

deca

y of

hum

an

rem

ains

usi

ng

pig

cada

vers

as

hum

an b

ody

anal

ogue

s: F

ield

ex

peri

men

ts

Non

-en

viro

nmen

tal:

Lim

e (C

a(OH

)2)

vs q

uick

lime

(CaO

)

Buri

ed m

icro

-en

viro

nmen

t of

shal

low

gra

ves

in sa

ndy-

loam

so

il in

Bel

gium

(F

eb 2

008

- Au

g 20

11)

To st

udy

the

effe

cts o

f lim

e on

the

deca

y of

hu

man

rem

ains

in

labo

rato

ry

cond

ition

s and

6

mon

ths o

f fie

ld

expe

rim

ents

n =

6 Co

ntro

l = 2

(u

nlim

ed) a

nd

Subj

ects

= 4

.Pi

g ca

rcas

ses

(Sus

scro

fa)

aged

bet

wee

n 10

and

12

wee

ks.

Indi

cato

rs:

Deco

mpo

sitio

n st

ages

upo

n ex

hum

atio

n

Met

hods

:1s

t set

(tim

e si

nce

deat

h 2

days

) w

as b

urie

d in

Feb

20

08. E

xcav

ated

in

Aug

201

1 (a

fter

42 m

onth

s).

2nd

set (

time

sinc

e de

ath

24h)

w

as b

urie

d in

Mar

20

10. E

xcav

ated

in

Aug

201

1 (a

fter

17 m

onth

s).

The

exte

nt o

f dec

ompo

sitio

n is

slow

ed

dow

n by

bur

ial w

ith b

oth

hydr

ated

lim

e an

d qu

ickl

ime.

The

lim

ed a

nd u

nlim

ed p

igs o

f th

e bu

rial

s rec

over

ed a

fter 4

2 m

onth

s wer

e to

tally

skel

eton

ised

with

out a

ny fr

agm

ents

of

soft

tissu

e le

ft. T

he ca

rcas

ses r

ecov

ered

af

ter 1

7 m

onth

s of b

uria

l wer

e in

an

adva

nced

st

age

of d

ecay

. Unl

imed

carc

ass A

21 e

xhib

ited

disi

nteg

ratio

n of

soft

tissu

e on

the

tors

o an

d sk

elet

onis

ed e

xtre

miti

es a

nd sk

ull.

Both

lim

ed

pigs

, B21

and

C21

, dis

play

ed li

quef

ying

soft

tissu

e at

the

tors

o an

d he

ad w

ith sk

elet

onis

ed

extr

emiti

es. T

he in

tern

al o

rgan

s wer

e no

lo

nger

dis

tingu

isha

ble.

The

upp

er su

rfac

e of

bot

h lim

ed p

igs d

ispl

ayed

a d

ark

brow

n co

lour

. Unl

ike

the

6 m

onth

bur

ials

, the

skin

w

as n

eith

er in

tact

nor

reco

gnis

able

any

mor

e.



11Ab

d El

-ba

r MM

[2

6]

A pr

elim

inar

y in

vest

igat

ion

of in

sect

co

loni

zatio

n an

d su

cces

sion

on

rem

ains

of

rabb

its

trea

ted

with

an

orga

noph

osph

ate

inse

ctic

ide

in

El-Q

alyu

biya

Go

vern

orat

e of

Eg

ypt

Non

-en

viro

nmen

tal:

Orga

noph

osph

ate

(OP)

pes

ticid

e pi

rim

ipho

s-m

ethy

l (te

st)

Sum

mer

in a

ru

ral v

illag

e (u

ninh

abite

d ho

use)

in

El-Q

alyu

biya

Go

vern

orat

e (E

gypt

)(A

ugus

t to

Sept

20

08)

To co

mpa

re th

e ne

crop

hago

us

inse

cts

colo

nizi

ng th

e ca

dave

rs

n =

4 Co

ntro

l = 2

(k

illed

by

asph

yxia

); Te

st

Subj

ect =

2

(poi

sone

d by

OP

)M

ale

rabb

its

( Ory

ctol

agus

cu

nicu

llus

dom

estic

us L

.),

each

wei

ghtin

g 15

Kg.

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e ta

ken

to

deco

mpo

sitio

n st

ages

.

Met

hod:

Ad

min

istr

atio

n of

10m

l pur

e do

se o

f an

antic

holin

este

rase

OP

pes

ticid

e di

rect

ly in

ject

ed

into

the

apex

of

the

hear

t. W

ithin

10

min

of d

eath

, th

e fo

ur ca

rcas

ses

wer

e tr

ansf

erre

d in

to fo

ur se

para

te

cage

s wel

ded

with

w

ire

mes

h (1

cm).

They

wer

e th

en

plac

ed 1

m a

part

.

Fres

h (d

ays 0

-1 fo

r Tes

t Sub

ject

and

0-1

for

Cont

rol)

Bloa

t (da

ys 1

-3 fo

r Tes

t Sub

ject

and

1-2

for

Cont

rol)

Wet

Dec

ompo

sitio

n (d

ays 4

-10

for T

est

Subj

ect a

nd 2

-7 fo

r Con

trol

)Dr

y De

com

posi

tion

(day

s 10-

40 fo

r Tes

t Su

bjec

t and

7-1

9 fo

r Con

trol

)Sk

elet

al (d

efin

ed b

y co

mpl

ete

loss

of s

oft

tissu

es w

ith o

nly

bone

s, ca

rtila

ge a

nd h

air

rem

ains

pre

sent

)

Cont

rol r

emai

ns re

ache

d th

e sk

elet

al st

age

by 1

9 da

ys p

ost-

killi

ng. T

est s

ubje

cts h

ad

unde

rgon

e on

ly p

artia

l dec

ay e

ven

40 d

ays

follo

win

g OP

poi

soni

ng w

ith o

nly

the

low

er

part

s of t

he te

st ca

rcas

ses o

bvio

usly

dec

ayed

, w

hils

t the

ir u

pper

par

ts re

mai

ned

unch

ange

d.



12M

atus

z-ew

ski S

et

al.

[33]

Effe

ct o

f bo

dy m

ass

and

clot

hing

on

carr

ion

ento

mof

auna

.

Non

-en

viro

nmen

tal:

Body

mas

s and

Cl

othi

ng

Gras

slan

d ha

bita

t of

Wes

tern

Po

land

(May

201

2 -

Nov

201

2)

To st

udy

sim

ulta

neou

s ef

fect

s of

carc

ass m

ass

and

clot

hing

n =

24

Dom

estic

pig

ca

rcas

ses

(Sus

scro

fa

dom

estic

a L.

) gr

oupe

d in

to

10.5

-24.

9°C

for

spri

ng, f

rom

16

.5-2

8.3°

C fo

r ea

rly su

mm

er,

and

from

9.1

-22

.0°C

for l

ate

sum

mer

Indi

cato

rs:

Num

ber o

f tax

a,

abun

danc

e an

d re

side

ncy

peri

od

of in

sect

s

Met

hods

: Fac

tori

al

bloc

k ex

peri

men

t w

ith 4

leve

ls o

f ca

rcas

s mas

s (s

mal

l car

cass

es

5-15

kg,

med

ium

ca

rcas

ses 1

5.1-

30

kg, m

ediu

m/l

arge

ca

rcas

ses 3

5-50

kg

, lar

ge ca

rcas

ses

55-7

0 kg

) and

2

leve

ls o

f car

cass

cl

othi

ng (c

loth

ed

and

uncl

othe

d)

Resu

lts d

emon

stra

te th

at in

sect

ass

embl

ages

ar

e m

ore

com

plex

, abu

ndan

t, an

d lo

ng-

last

ing

on la

rger

carc

asse

s, w

here

as cl

othi

ng

is o

f min

or im

port

ance

in th

is re

spec

t. On

ly

larg

e or

med

ium

/lar

ge ca

rcas

ses w

ere

colo

nize

d by

all

guild

s of c

arri

on in

sect

s, w

hile

smal

l or m

ediu

m ca

rcas

ses r

evea

led

high

und

erre

pres

enta

tion

of la

te-c

olon

izin

g in

sect

s. Re

side

ncie

s of a

ll fo

rens

ical

ly re

leva

nt

inse

cts w

ere

dist

inct

ly p

rolo

nged

(atle

ast

thre

e tim

es lo

nger

) on

larg

er ca

rcas

ses,

indi

catin

g th

at ca

dave

r mas

s is a

fact

or o

f gr

eat i

mpo

rtan

ce.

13H

eo C

C et

al

. [34

]

Stud

y of

inse

ct

succ

essi

on

and

rate

of

deco

mpo

sitio

n on

a p

artia

lly

burn

ed p

ig

carc

ass i

n an

oil

palm

pla

ntat

ion

in M

alay

sia.

Non

-en

viro

nmen

tal:

Part

ially

bur

ning

Oil p

alm

pl

anta

tion

near

a

pig

farm

in

Tanj

ung

Sepa

t, Se

lang

or

To co

mpa

re

the

stag

es o

f de

com

posi

tion

and

faun

al

succ

essi

on o

f pa

rtia

lly b

urnt

pi

g w

ith co

ntro

l

n =

2 Yo

ung

pigs

w

eigh

ed

appr

oxim

atel

y 10

kg

died

fro

m

pneu

mon

ia.

Indi

cato

rs:

Tim

e ta

ken

to

deco

mpo

sitio

n st

ages

Met

hods

: One

pi

g w

as p

artia

lly

burn

t by

1-lit

er

petr

ol w

hile

the

othe

r ser

ved

as

cont

rol.

Visi

ted

twic

e pe

r day

for

the

first

wee

k an

d on

ce th

erea

fter.

Fres

h (D

ay 1

-2),

Bloa

ted

(Day

3),

Activ

e De

cay

(Day

4-6

), Ad

vanc

ed D

ecay

(7-8

), Dr

y re

mai

ns

(9-1

6)

Resu

lts sh

owed

that

ther

e w

as n

o si

gnifi

cant

di

ffere

nce

betw

een

the

rate

of d

ecom

posi

tion

and

sequ

ence

of f

auna

l suc

cess

ion

on b

oth

pig

carc

asse

s. Bo

th ca

rcas

ses w

ere

com

plet

ely

deco

mpo

sed

to re

mai

n st

age

afte

r 9 d

ays.

The

only

diff

eren

ce n

oted

was

in th

e nu

mbe

r of

adul

t flie

s, w

here

by m

ore

flies

wer

e se

en in

th

e co

ntro

l car

cass

.



14Be

nbow

M

E et

al.

[35]

Dela

yed

inse

ct a

cces

s al

ters

carr

ion

deco

mpo

sitio

n an

d ne

crop

hago

us

inse

ct

com

mun

ity

asse

mbl

y

Non

-en

viro

nmen

tal:

Dela

yed

inse

ct

acce

ss to

carr

ion

for 5

day

s

Mid

wes

tern

te

mpe

rate

fo

rest

hab

itat

surr

ound

ed

by a

gric

ultu

ral

field

s in

Xeni

a, O

hio,

US

A du

ring

tw

o su

mm

er

seas

ons,

2010

an

d 20

11

To st

udy

the

effe

ct o

f del

ayed

in

sect

acc

ess

n =

6 Sw

ine

carc

asse

s. 3

rand

om

carc

asse

s ex

pose

d to

in

sect

acc

ess

(ACC

). 3

carc

asse

s wer

e en

clos

ed in

Lu

mite

scre

en

cage

s to

excl

ude

necr

opha

gous

in

sect

Indi

cato

rs: T

ime

take

n to

dry

stag

e

Met

hods

: In

2010

, six

mal

e ca

rcas

ses r

angi

ng

from

10.

4 - 3

0.1

kg, e

utha

nize

d by

cr

ania

l blu

nt fo

rce.

In

201

1, u

sing

the

sam

e m

etho

ds, s

ix

carc

asse

s (th

ree

fem

ales

and

thre

e m

ales

) eut

hani

zed

from

5.0

–7.3

kg

Duri

ng th

e fir

st 5

day

s of d

ecom

posi

tion,

in

sect

exc

lusi

on ca

rcas

ses r

emai

ned

in b

loat

st

age

whi

le th

ose

natu

rally

colo

nize

d w

ere

wel

l adv

ance

d in

act

ive

deco

mpo

sitio

n.

In 2

010

the

inse

ct a

cces

s car

cass

es w

ere

appr

oach

ing

the

dry

stag

e w

ith ca

lliph

orid

la

rval

mas

ses c

over

ing

two

carc

asse

s, w

hile

for c

arca

ss th

ere

had

alre

ady

been

a

larv

al d

ispe

rsal

eve

nt b

y th

e en

d of

day

5.

Mea

nwhi

le, i

nsec

t exc

lusi

on ca

rcas

ses w

ere

in

the

bloa

t sta

ge o

f dec

ompo

sitio

n on

the

Day

5.

In 2

010,

inse

ct a

cces

s car

cass

es d

ecom

pose

d to

the

dry

stag

e be

twee

n th

e Da

y 6

and

7 of

dec

ompo

sitio

n; h

owev

er, i

n 20

11 th

ese

carc

asse

s wer

e in

the

dry

stag

e w

ithin

5 d

ays.

Duri

ng b

oth

2010

and

201

1, in

sect

exc

lusi

on

carc

asse

s wer

e in

dry

stag

e by

the

Day

9 of

de

com

posi

tion,

whi

ch co

rres

pond

ed w

ith th

e 4

days

of p

ost-

excl

usio

n in

sect

act

ivity

. Thi

s su

gges

ts th

at o

nce

inse

cts w

ere

allo

wed

to

colo

nize

the

reso

urce

it h

ad a

n ac

cele

rate

d de

com

posi

tion

proc

ess.



Animal carcasses subjected to different habitats and localities would present different decomposition changes and insect colonisation. Although there was no significant difference of decomposition in a lake and a stream area, time taken to reach skeletonised stage of pig carcasses was three times longer (61 days) compared to in semi-rural area (21 days) according to the Colombian locality located over 2600 m above sea level. Canadian articles have reported that anoxic condition (very low oxygen level) under deep coastal marine environment would delay the skeletonisation as much as five times compared to moderately low oxygen level (22 days), however, it has taken only 4 days under submergence sea environment in the Strait of Georgia [9-11]. Also there would be a delay of 5 days in insect colonisation causing the delay of skeletonisation in indoor condition compared to outdoor environment. Voss SC et al. [12,13] have investigated into the enclosed vehicle environment in which they found that the higher temperature inside the vehicle have enhanced the decomposition rate by 3 to 4 days. In the Middle East taphonomic study of rabbit carcasses, researchers have reported that decomposition rate in urban area and desert area was double up. It has taken 5 days to reach the dry stage compared to coastal area and agricultural area (13 days). Silahuddin SA et al. [14] has encountered the similar results whereby rabbit carcasses undergone faster decomposition rate in rural or pasture area compared to jungle area and highland area.

Faria LS et al. [7] has also complied with their findings by using pig carcasses whereby insects bred more abundantly in the pasture area compared to forest area. Furthermore, sun-exposed carcasses underwent greater variation in fauna compared to shaded carcasses whilst more abundant on meadow compared to on the floor. From the burial factor perspective by using the total body scoring system, time taken to reach skeletonised stage with score of 30/35 TBS was within 42 days compared to period of 10 days for the ground control rabbit carcasses [15]. It was four times slower decomposition rate due to the burial factor and the SPSS analysis showed that the burial factor was significant in affecting the TBS score. Troutman L et al. [16] reported that deep and core buried subjects of burial were even more significantly slower than those of the shallow and mid-outer buried subjects. According to Simmons T et al. [17] stated that ground and buried rabbit carcasses that have been accessed by insects activity were scored 26/30 TBS after 300 and 400 accumulated degree days (ADD) respectively. In terms of non-environmental approaches, rabbit carcasses did not show significant difference among types of clothing. Combination of burial and type of clothing factors also was not significant.

However, pig carcasses have shown unclothed carcasses decomposing faster than clothed carcasses and presence of clothing markedly prolonged the wet decay stage as well as had larger visible maggot masses which moved more freely and took longer to be dried out. Clothing was the minor importance compared to the insect assemblages and body mass

factor. Spicka A et al. [18] mentioned that animal carcasses of a mass less than 20 kg decomposed more rapidly than larger carcasses. Insect exclusion carcasses were delayed at least two times to reach dry stage of decomposition (10 days) compared to the exposed carcasses (26 days). It was reported similarly with the presence of scavenging effects by King KA et al [19]. Nevertheless, physical barriers such as usage of wrapping, lime and cement had significantly more important than clothing effect. Ahmad A et al. [20] had reported that wrapping delayed the arrival of all fly species encountered the monkey carcasses, with the delay up to maximum 13 days. Cemented pig carcasses showed areas of mummification at the abdomen within a general context of initial putrefaction at the third month and showed wide adipocere formation after 6 months [21]. After 17 months of burial, unlimed carcass exhibited disintegration of soft tissue on the torso and skeletonised extremities and skull whilst limed pigs displayed liquefying soft tissue at the torso and head with skeletonised extremities [22].

Moreover, application of quicklime instigated an initial acceleration of decay. Microscopic changes may be delayed in presence of concrete and lime but not totally eliminates all the aerobic bacteria. On the other hand, burning pig carcasses greatly accelerated decomposition in contrast to unburnt carcasses. Physical modifications following burning such as skin discolouration, splitting of abdominal tissue and leathery consolidation of skin eliminated evidence of bloat and altered micro ambient temperatures [23]. It was supported by Vanin S et al. [24] whereby burning effect doubled up the decomposition rate compared to unburnt carcasses. In contrary, burning effect was still not statistically significant as examined by four of local and foreign researchers for both pig and rabbit carcasses. In certain rare condition which happened occasionally, Lynch-Aird J et al. [25] reported that hanging pigs reached advanced decomposition stages sooner, but lagged behind during the early stages. This delay is believed to result from lower variety and quantity of insects. Pig carcasses had undergone only partial decay even 40 days following organophosphate (OP) pesticide pirimiphos-methyl poisoning whilst the control remains reached the skeletal stage by 19 days post-killing [26]. They stated that only the lower parts of the test carcasses were obviously decayed, whilst their upper parts remained unchanged.

DiscussionBased on the evidence in this review, there were emerging

literatures for the past 10 years reporting the factors, including environmental and non-environmental, affecting the cadaveric decomposition rates by using animal carcasses in which majority were pigs and rabbits. Several important aspects of these affecting factors within animal carcasses have been identified: Firstly, the affecting factors on the decomposition rate could be further classified into enhancing or accelerating and delaying or decelerating factors which were regularly reported by the published studies [36]. Accelerating factors were mostly related



to higher temperature including the summer season (triple to septuple), rainy season, urban and desert area (double), sun-exposed on ground area, burning effect (double), enclosed vehicle as well as exposure to insects (at least double) and scavenger activities (double). Decelerating factors, on the other hands, often relied on the effect of the lower temperature such as winter season (3 - 7 times), deep coastal marine (5 times), underwater (3 times), highland and shaded area. It might also depend on the burial effect (4 times) and other physical barriers to prevent the access of insect activities by using heavy clothing, wrapping, lime and cement as well as the chemical barrier likewise the organophosphate (OP) pesticide etc. However, the variables and decomposition rates were generally varied between studies. There are several reasons for these inconsistent findings including the differences in the study design, sample size, sample type, location of study, choice of comparison groups and methods used to assess the relationship between the affecting factors and decomposition rate.

Some of these studies have implied combination of affecting factors which have made the analysis and comparison more complicated. Secondly, it appeared that the techniques of measurements used to evaluate the decomposition rate were also varied depending on the objectives of the respective studies in this review. Most of the researchers observed and recorded the time taken to reach each of the categorised decomposition stages which was also varied from one another. However, the start point (fresh stage) and the ending point (dry or skeletonised stage) of the decomposition changes were often similar among the studies and permit immediate comparison. Nonetheless, some researchers used different approaches such as time taken for first colonisation of insects, insect richness, insect residency time, insect succession patterns and taxa variation. Moreover, more systematic approaches such as total body scoring system (TBS), accumulated degree days (ADD) system and percentage of weight loss of the carcasses were also used to determine the decomposition rate. Again these were also varied from one another, for example, the maximum scores might be different from each articles and the measurements made at different period or by different point of time or at different ADD values [37-40]. The comparison, hence, might be very complex to certain extend in making inference and conclusion from this review.

Thirdly, findings from this scoping review have demonstrated that insect activities and temperature were the main factors affecting the overall decomposition rates except in the presence of physical barriers which might have contributed some variations to the decomposition rates. Apart from that, Simmons T et al. [17] have collected data from previous studies and recent experiments in which were then compared using simple conversions across multiple environments. The major effector of change in decomposition rate was the insect presence, regardless of depositional environment, species, or season. Body size of the animal carcasses chosen was only significant when carcasses

were accessed by insects. When insects were excluded, while bodies were indoors, submerged, or buried, then decomposition progresses at the same rate regardless of body size. Therefore, early differentiation of the carcass type and body size used by the researchers would definitely make the scoping review more applicable for comparison as the analogue to the human cadavers. This is due to the limitation of the ethics issues which have been extensively discussed for any taphonomic study using human cadavers [41].

To overcome this problem, researcher are recommended to compute the degree of the affecting factors and report the decomposition rate of animal carcasses in terms of either percentage or tuple order of the delaying effect or enhancing power. It could be also in the form of average TBS per day or ADD per day to tolerate for the application in any carcass type and body size used as the analogue to human cadavers. Finally, this scoping review also found that there was no extensive evidence on the decomposition rate in equatorial or tropical countries including Malaysia. Only a few taphonomy studies in Malaysia was identified which mainly focus in Kedah and Selangor area. However, there were in fact many other studies have been excluded owing to researchers reported only the entomological findings and biochemistry details of the carcasses without correlating with the decomposition rate. The limitation of this study was that the data was collected from certain selected resources without considering unpublished articles especially those minor studies conducted by undergraduate students. Some of the finite values of decomposition rate for each affecting factors were not fully concluded in this study due to the limitation of their study period whereby some of the carcasses might not be fully skeletonised. Therefore, future researches need to be conducted in a systematic ways in order to address the significant factors affecting the decomposition rate and more accurately estimate the postmortem interval in any of the death investigation [42].

Collaborative research effort between the Ministry of Health, universities and other international agencies is one of the strategies that need to be implemented to provide evidence on the relationship between the affecting factors and the decomposition rate which could be recognised world-widely later on. Trained professionals are also encouraged to conduct proper extensive studies and actively discuss with their international networking especially during any platform of research presentations. In conclusion, there were emerging evidences on the affecting factors of the decomposition rate, although it was still very limited in tropical countries including Malaysia. Findings of this scoping review demonstrated that insect activities and temperature were the main factors affecting the overall decomposition rates except in the presence of physical barriers which might have contributed some variations to the decomposition rates. It is hoped that these findings will support the planning of future researches in a more systematic and extensive way to enable more accurate estimation of postmortem



interval based on the delaying effects and enhancing factors on the decomposition rates [43].

AcknowledgementThe authors would like to thank the Director General,

Ministry of Health Malaysia for the permission to publish this paper. This scoping review was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia to prepare for an experimental taphonomic study by using rabbit carcasses in Kuala Lumpur Hospital. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Mohd Shah Mahmood who acting as Director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and appreciate all the contributors who have involved directly or indirectly throughout this scoping review.

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