A look into the carrion insect community: The importance of priority effects and its role in determining community assembly patterns and community structure

Within the field of ecology, there has been a considerable amount of research devoted to understanding how ecological communities assemble themselves over time and space. While there are many ecological models (aquatic and terrestrial) that have been used to develop and test successional theories, the carrion system provides a distinct advantage over traditional systems. With its rapid dynamics, replicability and complex assortment of guilds, insects and ecological interactions, this system can be used to provide insight into the processes and mechanisms that are responsible for structuring ecological systems as a whole.

The effects of arrival order were investigated using three blow fly species: Phormia regina (Meigen), Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) and Lucilia sericata (Meigen). A total of 400 first instar larvae were transferred to fetal pig carcasses (Sus scrofa (Linnaeus)), where the arrival sequence of each species varied. Larval, pupal and emergent adult mortality was measured as well as emergent adult fitness. Results determined that L. sericata acts as a facilitator species for both P. regina and C.rufifacies by increasing the colonization potential, survivability and adult fitness of both species. However, L. sericata does experience some negative effects due to the presence of either species in the system. These experiments indicate that multiple mechanisms play a role in structuring the dynamics of the carrion insect community. These mechanisms should be further explored to gain more insight into how the carrion community, as well as other complex communities assemble themselves to allow for the coexistance of various species types within the same system.