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Faunal Succession Of Necrophilous Insects Associated With High-Pofile Wildlife Carcasses In Louisiana, Erin Jean Grindley Watson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The same entomological criteria used in estimating time of death for humans are applicable for deceased wildlife. Necrophilous insects associated with animal carcasses can provide wildlife law enforcement with valuable information necessary for postmortem interval estimation, and ultimately, to incriminate poachers. The purpose of this research was twofold: to establish species composition, faunal succession patterns, and species and life stage interactions of necrophilous insects associated with three wildlife species; and to identify new methods of evaluating succession patterns using statistical measures. Twenty-one large vertebrate carcasses were monitored throughout decomposition in a mixed flatwood forest in East Baton Rouge Parish, LA …