Subject(s)
Arachnid Vectors , Bacteria/isolation & purification , Ticks/microbiology , Animals , Borrelia burgdorferi Group/isolation & purification , Francisella tularensis/isolation & purification , Lyme Disease/etiology , Lyme Disease/prevention & control , Missouri , Tick Control , United StatesABSTRACT
Decomposition studies were conducted using two carcasses of domestic pigs, Sus scrofa L., 8.4 kg and 15.1 kg in weight, to determine the effects of carcass size on the rate of decomposition, composition of the arthropod fauna, and succession patterns. A total of 46 arthropod taxa were recovered during this study. No size-related differences were observed between carcasses with respect to composition of the arthropod fauna or patterns of succession. A greater number of arthropods were observed attracted to the 15.1-kg carcass, and the rate of decomposition observed was more rapid for the 15.1-kg carcass than for the 8.4-kg carcass. Internal temperatures of the 8.4-kg carcass were more directly related to external ambient temperatures during the fresh and bloated stages of decomposition. During the decay stage, both carcasses generated internal temperatures significantly above ambient temperatures. Following this stage, internal temperatures fell to approximate ambient temperatures during the postdecay and remains stages.
Subject(s)
Arthropods/physiology , Body Constitution/physiology , Postmortem Changes , Animals , Regression Analysis , Swine , TemperatureABSTRACT
Larvae of the flesh fly Boettcherisca peregrina (Robineau-Desvoidy) were reared on the tissues of rabbits to study the effects of heroin on the development rates of this species. The rabbits were given 6, 12, 18, and 24 mg of heroin by cardiac puncture. From Hours 18 to 96, larvae feeding on tissues containing heroin (as morphine) developed more rapidly than those feeding on tissues from the control. The time required for pupation was significantly greater for colonies fed on tissues from heroin-dosed rabbits than for the control colony. The differences observed in the rates of development were sufficient to alter postmortem interval estimates based on larval development by up to 29 h and estimates based on pupal development by 18 to 38 h.
