Human Decomposition Ecology and Postmortem Microbiology

Manual of Forensic Taphonomy

Volumn , Issue , 2013, Pages 37-50

  Damann, Franklin E ^a   Carter, David O ^b  

^a National Museum of Health and Medicine   (United States)

^b CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY OF HONOLULU   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84909635623     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1201/b15424-7     Document Type: Chapter

References (84)

1. Aturaliya, S. and A. Lukasewycz (1999) Experimental forensic and bioanthropological aspects of soft tissue taphonomy: 1. Factors influencing postmortem tissue desiccation rate. Journal of Forensic Sciences 44:893-896.
2. Behrensmeyer, A. K. (1984) Taphonomy and the fossil record. American Scientist 72:558-566.
3. Benninger, L. A., D. O. Carter, and S. Forbes (2008) The biochemical alteration of soil beneath a decomposing corpse. Forensic Science International 180:70-75.
4. Burges, A. (1967) The decomposition of organic matter in the soil. In Soil Biology eds. A. Burges and F. Raw, pp. 479-492. Academic Press, New York.
5. Campobasso, C. P., G. D. Vella, and F. Introna (2001) Factors affecting decomposition and Diptera colonization. Forensic Science International 120:18-27.
6. Carter, D. O. and M. Tibbett (2003) Taphonomic mycota: Fungi with forensic potential. Journal of Forensic Sciences 48:168-171.
7. Carter, D. O., D. Yellowlees, and M. Tibbett (2007) Cadaver decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Naturwissenschaften 94:12-24.
8. Carter, D. O., D. Yellowlees, and M. Tibbett (2010) Moisture can be the dominant environmental parameter governing cadaver decomposition in soil. Forensic Science International 200:60-66.
9. Catts, E. P. and N. H. Haskell (1990) Entomology and Death: A Procedural Guide. Joyce’s Print Shop, Clemson, SC.
10. Child, A. M. (1995) Towards an understanding of the microbial decomposition of archaeological bone in the burial environment. Journal of Archaeological Science 22:165-174.
11. Clark, M. A., M. B. Worrell, and J. E. Pless (1997) Postmortem changes in soft tissues. In Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains eds. W. D. Haglund and M. H. Sorg, pp. 151-164. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
12. Coleman, D. C., D. A. Crossley, Jr., and P. F. Hendrix (2004) Fundamentals of Soil Ecology (2nd edn.) Academic Press, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
13. Costello, E. K., C. L. Lauber, M. Hamaday, N. Fierer, J. I. Gordon, and R. Knight (2009) Bacterial com-munity variation in human body habitats across space and time. Science 326:1694-1697.
14. Damann, F. E. (2010) Human Decomposition Ecology at the University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Center. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
15. Damann, F. E., A. Tanittaisong, and D. O. Carter (2012) Potential carcass enrichment of the University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility: A baseline survey of edaphic fea-tures. Forensic Science International 222:4-10.
16. Dent, B. B., S. L. Forbes, and B. H. Stuart (2004) Review of human decomposition processes in soil. Environmental Geology 45:576-585.
17. Di Maio, D. J. and V. J. M. Di Maio (2001) Forensic Pathology (2nd edn.). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
18. Dickson, G. C, R. T. M. Poulter, E. W. Mass, P. K. Probert, and E. W. Kieser (2011) Marine bacte-rial succession as a potential indicator of postmortem submersion interval. Forensic Science International 209:1-10.
19. Dix, J. and M. Graham (2000) Time of Death, Decomposition and Identification: An Atlas. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
20. Edwards, R., B. Chaney, and M. Bergman (1987) Pest & Crop Newsletter Vol. 2, pp. 5-6.
21. Evans, W. E. D. (1963) The Chemistry of Death. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL.
22. Forbes, S. L. (2008) Decomposition chemistry in a burial environment. In Soil Analysis in Forensic Taphonomy: Chemical and Biological Effects of Buried Human Remains eds. M. Tibbett and D. O. Carter, pp. 203-224. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
23. Forbes, S. L., B. B. Dent, and B. H. Stuart (2005) The effect of soil type on adipocere formation. Forensic Science International 154:35-43.
24. Forbes, S. L., J. Keegan, B. H. Stuart, and D. B. Dent (2003) A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the detection of adipocere in gravesoils. European Journal of Science and Technology 105:761-768.
25. Forbes, S. L., B. H. Stuart, I. R. Dadour, and B. B. Dent (2004) A preliminary investigation of the stages of adipocere formation. Journal of Forensic Sciences 49:566-574.
26. Galloway, A. (1997) The process of decomposition: A model from the Arizona-Sonoran desert. In Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains eds. W. D. Haglund and M. H. Sorg, pp. 139-150. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
27. Galloway, A., W. H. Birkby, A. M. Jones, T. H. Henry, and B. O. Parks (1989) Decay rates of human remains in an arid environment. Journal of Forensic Sciences 34:607-616.
28. Gill-King, H. (1997) Chemical and ultrastructural aspects of decomposition. In Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains eds. W. D. Haglund and M. H. Sorg, pp. 93-108. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
29. Gordon, C. C. and J. E. Buikstra (1981) Soil pH, bone preservation, and sampling bias at mortuary sites. American Antiquity 46:566-571.
30. Haglund, W. D. (1997a) Dogs and coyotes: Postmortem involvement with human remains. In Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains eds. W. D. Haglund and M. H. Sorg, pp. 367-381. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
31. Haglund, W. D. (1997b) Rodents and human remains. In Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains ed. W. D. Haglund and M. H. Sorg, pp. 405-414. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
32. Haglund, W. D. and M. H. Sorg (1997) Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
33. Henβge, C. and B. Madea (2004) Estimation of the time since death in the early post-mortem period. Forensic Science International 144:167-175.
34. Hewadikaram, K. A. and M. L. Goff (1991) Effect of carcass size on rate of decomposition and arthro-pod succession patterns. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 12:235-240.
35. Holland, T. D., B. E. Anderson, and R. W. Mann (1997) Human variables in the postmortem alteration of human bone: Examples from U.S. war casualties. In Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains eds. W. D. Haglund and M. H. Sorg, pp. 263-274. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
36. Hopkins, D. W. (2008) The role of soil organisms in terrestrial decomposition. In Soil Analysis in Forensic Taphonomy: Chemical and Biological Effects of Buried Human Remains eds. M. Tibbett and D. O. Carter, pp. 53-66. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
37. Hopkins, D. W., P. E. J. Wiltshire, and D. B. Turner (2000) Microbial characteristics of soils from graves: An investigation at the interface of soil microbiology and forensic science. Applied Soil Ecology 14:283-288.
38. Howard, G. T., B. Duos, and E. J. Watson-Horzelski (2010) Characterization of the soil microbial com-munity associated with the decomposition of a swine carcass. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 64:300-304.
39. Jans, M. M. E., C. M. Nielsen-Marsh, C. I. Smith, M. J. Collins, and H. Kars (2004) Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone. Journal of Archaeological Science 31:87-95.
40. Jenny, H. (1941) Factors of Soil Formation: A System of Quantitative Pedology. McGraw-Hill, New York.
41. Kellerman, G. D., B. G. Waterman, and L. F. Scharfenberger (1976) Demonstration in vitro of post-mortem bacterial transmigration. American Journal of Clinical Pathology 66:911-915.
42. Klippel, W. E. and J. A. Synstelien (2007) Rodents as taphonomic agents: Bone gnawing by brown rats and gray squirrels. Journal of Forensic Sciences 52:765-773.
43. Krompecher, T. (2002) Rigor mortis: Estimation of the time since death by evaluation of cadav-eric rigidity. In Estimation of Time Since Death in the Early Postmortem Interval ed. B. Knight, pp. 144-160. Hodder Arnold, London, U.K.
44. Love, J. C. and M. Marks (2003) Taphonomy and time: Estimating the postmortem interval. In Hard Evidence: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology ed. D. W. Steadman, pp. 160-175. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
45. Mann, R. W., W. M. Bass, and L. Meadows (1990) Time since death and decomposition of the human body: Variables and observations in case and experimental field studies. Journal of Forensic Sciences 35:103-111.
46. Mant, A. K. (1987) Knowledge acquired from post-war exhumations. In Death, Decay and Reconstruction: Approaches to Archaeology and Forensic Science eds. A. Boddington, A. N. Garland, and C. Janaway, pp. 65-78. Manchester University Press, Manchester, U.K.
47. McGuire, K. L. and K. K. Treseder (2010) Microbial communities and their relevance for ecosystem models: Decomposition as a case study. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 42:529-535.
48. Megyesi, M. S., S. P. Nawrocki, and N. H. Haskell (2005) Using accumulated degree-days to estimate the postmortem interval from decomposed human remains. Journal of Forensic Sciences 50:618-626.
49. Melvin, J. R., Jr., L. S. Cronholm, L. R. Simson, and A. M. Isaacs (1984) Bacterial transmigration as an indicator of time of death. Journal of Forensic Sciences 29:412-417.
50. Micozzi, M. S. (1986) Experimental study of postmortem change under field conditions: Effects of freezing, thawing, and mechanical injury. Journal of Forensic Sciences 31:953-961.
51. Micozzi, M. S. (1991) Postmortem Change in Human and Animal Remains. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL.
52. Moorhead, D. L. and R. L. Sinsabaugh (2006) A theoretical model of litter decay and microbial interaction. Ecological Monographs 76:151-174.
53. Olson, J. S. (1963) Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology 44:322-331.
54. Parkinson, R. A. (2009) Bacterial Communities Associated with Human Decomposition. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
55. Parkinson, R. A., K. R. Dias, J. Horswell, P. Greenwood, N. Banning, M. Tibbett and A. A. Vass (2009) Microbial community analysis of human decomposition in soil. In Criminal and Environmental Soil Forensics eds. K. Ritz, L. A. Dawson, and D. Miller, pp. 379-394. Springer, New York.
56. Paul, E. A. (2007) Soil Microbiology, Ecology, and Biochemistry (3rd edn.). Academic Press: Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
57. Payne, J. A. (1965) A summer carrion study of the baby pig Sus scrofa Linnaeus. Ecology 46:592-602.
58. Payne-James, J., A. Busuttil, and W. Smock (2003) Forensic Medicine: Clinical and Pathological Aspects. Greenwich Medical Media, San Francisco, CA.
59. Perper, J. (1993) Time of death and changes after death: Part 1: Anatomical considerations. In Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigation (3rd edn.) ed. W. U. Spitz, pp. 14-49. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL.
60. Powers, R. H. (2005) The decomposition of human remains: A biochemical perspective. In Forensic Medicine of the Lower Extremity: Human Identification and Trauma Analysis of the Thigh, Leg, and Foot eds. J. Rich, D. E. Dean, and R. H. Powers, pp. 3-15. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ.
61. Prostgate, J. (2000) Microbes and Man (4th edn.) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
62. Putman, R. J. (1978a) Patterns of carbon dioxide evolution from decaying carrion. Decomposition of small mammal carrion in temperate systems 1. Oikos 31:47-57.
63. Putman, R. J. (1978b) Flow of energy and organic matter from a carcass during decomposition. Decomposition of small mammal carrion in temperate systems 2. Oikos 31:58-68.
64. Putman, R. J. (1983) Carrion and Dung: The Decomposition of Animal Wastes. The Institute of Biology’s Studies in Biology, No. 165. Edward Arnold, London, U.K.
65. Reed, H. B. (1958) A study of dog carcass communities in Tennessee, with special reference to the insects. American Midland Naturalist 59:213-245.
66. Ricklefs, R. E. (1997) The Economy of Nature (4th edn.). W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.
67. Rodriguez, W. C. (1997) Decomposition of buried and submerged bodies. In Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains eds. W. D. Haglund and M. H. Sorg, pp. 459-468. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
68. Rodriguez, W. C., and W. M. Bass (1983) Insect activity and its relationship to decay rates of human cadavers in east Tennessee. Journal of Forensic Sciences 28:423-432.
69. Sledzik, P. S. (1998) Forensic taphonomy: Postmortem decomposition and decay. In Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains (2nd edn.) ed. K. J. Reichs, pp. 109-119. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL.
70. Shirley N. R., R. J. Wilson, and L. Meadows-Jantz (2011) Cadaver use at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility. Clinical Anatomy 24:372-380.
71. Sidrim, J. J. C., R. E. Moreira Filho, R. A. Cordeiro, M. F. G. Rocha, E. P. Caetano, A. J. Monteiro, and R. S. N. Brilhante (2010) Fungal microbiota dynamics as a postmortem investigation tool: Focus on Aspergillus, Penicillium and Candida species. Journal of Applied Microbiology 108:1751-1756.
72. Spicka, A. R., R. Johnson, J. Bushing, L. G. Higley, and D. O. Carter (2011) Carcass mass can influ-ence rate of decomposition and release of ninhydrin-reactive nitrogen into gravesoil. Forensic Science International 209:80-85.
73. Stewart, T. D. (1979) Essentials of Forensic Anthropology: Especially as Developed in the United States. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL.
74. Swift, M. J., O. W. Heal, and J. M. Anderson (1979) Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, U.K.
75. Tibbett, M., D. O. Carter, T. Haslam, R. Major, and R. Haslam (2004) A laboratory incubation method for determining the rate of microbiological degradation of skeletal muscle tissue in soil. Journal of Forensic Sciences 49:560-565.
76. Towne, E. G. (2000) Prairie vegetation and soil nutrient responses to ungulate carcasses. Oecologia 122:232-239.
77. Van’t Hoff, J. H. (1884) Etudes de Dynamique Chemique. Frederik Muller and Co., Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
78. Vass, A. A., S.-A. Barshick, G. Sega, J. Caton, J. T. Skeen, J. C. Love, and J. A. Synstelien (2002) Decomposition chemistry of human remains: A new methodology for determining the post-mortem interval. Journal of Forensic Sciences 47:542-553.
79. Vass, A. A., W. M. Bass, J. D. Wolt, J. E. Foss, and J. T. Ammons (1992) Time since death determinations of human cadavers using soil solution. Journal of Forensic Sciences 37:1236-1253.
80. Vass, A. A., R. R. Smith, C. V. Thompson, M. N. Burnett, N. Dulgerian, and B. A. Eckenrode (2008) Odor analysis of decomposing buried human remains. Journal of Forensic Sciences 53:384-391.
81. Vass, A. A., R. R. Smith, C. V. Thompson, M. N. Burnett, D. A. Wolf, J. A. Synstelien, N. Dulgerian, and B. A. Eckenrode (2004) Decompositional odor analysis database. Journal of Forensic Sciences 49:760-769.
82. Wang, Q., G. M. Garrity, J. M. Tiedje, and J. R. Cole (2007) Naïve Bayesian classifier for rapid assignment of rRNA sequences into the new bacterial taxonomy. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73:5261-5267.
83. Willey, P. and L. M. Snyder (1989) Canid modification of human remains: Implications for time-since death estimation. Journal of Forensic Sciences 34:894-901.
84. Wilson, M. (2008) Bacteriology of Humans: An Ecological Perspective. Blackwell, Malden, MA.