Impact of necrophagous insects on the emission of volatile organic compounds released during the decaying process

[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

Vanderplanck, Maryse

Boullis, Antoine ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs

Haubruge, Eric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs

Verheggen, François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs

Language :

English

Title :

Impact of necrophagous insects on the emission of volatile organic compounds released during the decaying process

Publication date :

2019

Journal title :

Entomologia Generalis

ISSN :

0171-8177

eISSN :

2363-7102

Publisher :

E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Germany

Volume :

Issue :

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 12 March 2019

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18 (16 by ULiège)

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