Abstract
A study on dipteran utility in assisting investigation of unattended deaths was carried out in mangrove areas of Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, and Masai, Johor, in Peninsular Malaysia by using rabbit carrions as the model. The aim of this study was to determine the dipteran species diversity and their succession over the decomposition period of the rabbit carrions. A total of 229 individuals belonging to 11 species from six families of Diptera were successfully identified from both study sites in October and December 2007.Chrysomya megacephala,C. rufifacies, andHydrotaeasp. were found to be the most abundant species recorded in this study. More species were collected from Masai with 10 species compared to Kuala Terengganu with nine species. Ecological indices (Shannon Wiener Index, Margalef Index, and Evenness Index) showed that Masai scored higher diversity, richness, and evenness values than Kuala Terengganu. However, Mann-WhitneyUtest did not show significant difference among the individuals represented at each study site (P>0.05). Calliphoridae predominated in the carrion during the fresh, bloat, and active decay stages of decomposition. Dipteran development was documented to be meteorologically dependent whereby; low temperature and high rainfall inhibit their colonization. Data collected in this study can hopefully serve as the basis for future estimates of the postmortem interval (PMI) particularly in mangrove area of tropical regions.
Highlights
Flies (Diptera) are among the most omnipresent and widely distributed insects
Forensic entomology makes use of information derived from either the succession of arthropods on human corpses or animal carcasses or the temperature-dependent development of insects to estimate the time elapsed since death, or postmortem interval (PMI), estimate of the time between death and corpse discovery [3]
The main objectives of this study were (1) to identify the dipterans which occurred on the rabbit carrions in two different mangrove areas which located in the Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, and in Masai, Johor, and (2) to investigate the dipteran succession pattern as a basis for future estimates of the PMI
Summary
Flies (Diptera) are among the most omnipresent and widely distributed insects. Because many flies develop from earlier to later stages of a life cycle in the bodies of dead vertebrates, and because several species leave behind a heavily hardened puparial case that may endure for centuries, flies are the most significant organisms for forensic study. They are especially valuable in determining the age of corpse from duration of a few hours to a few years [2]. The time of death is a critical piece of information for investigators attempting to understand the cause of suspicious deaths [6]
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