thanatochemistry; necrophageous insects; forensic sciences,; decaying process
Abstract :
[en] After death, corpses undergo a complex decomposition process, during which volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) are released. Several groups of organisms, including insects,
use these VOCs to select their mating and feeding sites. While the presence of insects on a
corpse influences the decaying process, we do not know whether insects impact on the VOC
profile released by the cadaver. Using decomposing rats exposed to dipterans (Lucilia sericata)
and/or coleopterans (Dermeste frischii), we assessed how the presence of insects impacted the
cadaver volatilome by using dynamic sampling. As expected, the decomposition of rats in presence
of insects was faster than in absence of insects. All rats went through the five decomposition
stages with the exception of rats decomposing without insects. The composition of their
volatile profiles differed among decomposition stages. We also found that insects do not affect
the volatilome of decomposing rats, and no indicator compound could be associated to the presence
of specific insect groups
Disciplines :
Entomology & pest control
Author, co-author :
Martin, Clément ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
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