Staff View: Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc

Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc

Introduction: Human decomposition is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors including entomological activity, which can result in variability in the decomposition process. In death investigations, forensic entomology, the study of insects in a legal context, is the preferred method to estimat...

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Main Authors:	Skopyk, Angela D., Forbes, Shari L., LeBlanc, Hélène N.
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Faculty of Medicine 2021
Subjects:	Physical and theoretical chemistry Diptera (Flies) Forensic Medicine. Medical jurisprudence. Legal medicine
Online Access:	https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/70065/1/70065.pdf https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/70065/ https://doi.org/10.24191/jchs.v6i1(Special).13993
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id	my.uitm.ir.70065
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spelling	my.uitm.ir.700652022-11-15T08:34:08Z https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/70065/ Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc Skopyk, Angela D. Forbes, Shari L. LeBlanc, Hélène N. Physical and theoretical chemistry Diptera (Flies) Forensic Medicine. Medical jurisprudence. Legal medicine Introduction: Human decomposition is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors including entomological activity, which can result in variability in the decomposition process. In death investigations, forensic entomology, the study of insects in a legal context, is the preferred method to estimate a post-mortem interval after pathologist methods are no longer applicable. The purpose of the current study was to document the primary dipteran colonization and rates of decay during the decomposition processes of human donors with known causes of death. Methods: Five consenting human donors were placed in a forested area at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) in Sydney, Australia, and allowed to decompose in a natural environment. Temperature and humidity were monitored hourly while other factors like colonizers and decomposition stage were recorded at each visit to the site. Thermal summation, called Accumulated Degree-Days (ADD), was calculated to compare the rates of decay. Results: Results show that no two donors followed the same rate of decomposition. There were instances of delayed dipteran colonization, which resulted in slowed decomposition rates. Differences in rates of decay between donors could also have been influenced by intrinsic factors such as size, clothing and peri-mortem treatments. Conclusions: This research supports the larger body of research involving the precolonization interval of insects, emphasizing the numerous variables that can affect colonization. Further research into the pre-colonization interval, and factors that affect it, should be performed using human donors to better understand how this knowledge can be applied to death investigations. Faculty of Medicine 2021-06 Article PeerReviewed text en https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/70065/1/70065.pdf Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc. (2021) Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences (JCHS), 6 (1). pp. 102-119. ISSN 0127-984X https://doi.org/10.24191/jchs.v6i1(Special).13993
institution	Universiti Teknologi Mara
building	Tun Abdul Razak Library
collection	Institutional Repository
continent	Asia
country	Malaysia
content_provider	Universiti Teknologi Mara
content_source	UiTM Institutional Repository
url_provider	http://ir.uitm.edu.my/
language	English
topic	Physical and theoretical chemistry Diptera (Flies) Forensic Medicine. Medical jurisprudence. Legal medicine
spellingShingle	Physical and theoretical chemistry Diptera (Flies) Forensic Medicine. Medical jurisprudence. Legal medicine Skopyk, Angela D. Forbes, Shari L. LeBlanc, Hélène N. Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc
description	Introduction: Human decomposition is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors including entomological activity, which can result in variability in the decomposition process. In death investigations, forensic entomology, the study of insects in a legal context, is the preferred method to estimate a post-mortem interval after pathologist methods are no longer applicable. The purpose of the current study was to document the primary dipteran colonization and rates of decay during the decomposition processes of human donors with known causes of death. Methods: Five consenting human donors were placed in a forested area at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) in Sydney, Australia, and allowed to decompose in a natural environment. Temperature and humidity were monitored hourly while other factors like colonizers and decomposition stage were recorded at each visit to the site. Thermal summation, called Accumulated Degree-Days (ADD), was calculated to compare the rates of decay. Results: Results show that no two donors followed the same rate of decomposition. There were instances of delayed dipteran colonization, which resulted in slowed decomposition rates. Differences in rates of decay between donors could also have been influenced by intrinsic factors such as size, clothing and peri-mortem treatments. Conclusions: This research supports the larger body of research involving the precolonization interval of insects, emphasizing the numerous variables that can affect colonization. Further research into the pre-colonization interval, and factors that affect it, should be performed using human donors to better understand how this knowledge can be applied to death investigations.
format	Article
author	Skopyk, Angela D. Forbes, Shari L. LeBlanc, Hélène N.
author_facet	Skopyk, Angela D. Forbes, Shari L. LeBlanc, Hélène N.
author_sort	Skopyk, Angela D.
title	Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc
title_short	Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc
title_full	Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc
title_fullStr	Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc
title_full_unstemmed	Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc
title_sort	recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in sydney, australia / angela d. skopyk, shari l. forbes and hélène n. leblanc
publisher	Faculty of Medicine
publishDate	2021
url	https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/70065/1/70065.pdf https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/70065/ https://doi.org/10.24191/jchs.v6i1(Special).13993
_version_	1751539993693650944
score	13.211869

Recognizing the inherent variability in dipteran colonization and decomposition rates of human donors in Sydney, Australia / Angela D. Skopyk, Shari L. Forbes and Hélène N. LeBlanc

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