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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Does Repeated Burial Of Skeletal Muscle Tissue (Ovis Aries) In Soil Affect Subsequent Decomposition?, David O. Carter, Mark Tibbett
Does Repeated Burial Of Skeletal Muscle Tissue (Ovis Aries) In Soil Affect Subsequent Decomposition?, David O. Carter, Mark Tibbett
Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications
The repeated introduction of an organic resource to soil can result in its enhanced degradation. This phenomenon is of primary importance in agroecosystems, where the dynamics of repeated nutrient, pesticide, and herbicide amendment must be understood to achieve optimal yield. Although not yet investigated, the repeated introduction of cadaveric material is an important area of research in forensic science and cemetery planning. It is not currently understood what effects the repeated burial of cadaveric material has on cadaver decomposition or soil processes such as carbon mineralization. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted a laboratory experiment using ovine ( …
Temperature Affects Microbial Decomposition Of Cadavers (Rattus Rattus) In Contrasting Soils, David O. Carter, David Yellowlees, Mark Tibbett
Temperature Affects Microbial Decomposition Of Cadavers (Rattus Rattus) In Contrasting Soils, David O. Carter, David Yellowlees, Mark Tibbett
Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications
The ecology of soils associated with dead mammals (i.e. cadavers) is poorly understood. Although temperature and soil type are well known to influence the decomposition of other organic resource patches, the effect of these variables on the degradation of cadavers in soil has received little experimental investigation. To address this, cadavers of juvenile rats (Rattus rattus) were buried in one of three contrasting soils (Sodosol, Rudosol, and Vertosol) from tropical savanna ecosystems in Queensland, Australia and incubated at 29 °C, 22 °C, or 15 °C in a laboratory setting. Cadavers and soils were destructively sampled at intervals of …