Statistical biodiversity: analyses of carrion-feeding insects as a function of local climate and stage of decomposition

Species diversity is an ecological function of how many different species exist in a given ecosystem at a specific place and time and is affected by several different environmental factors. Statistical methods used in environmental studies have been demonstrated to be useful in applied sciences; therefore, these same methods could be useful in other applied fields such as forensic entomology. By treating a cadaver like a small scale ecosystem, intrinsic characteristics can be measured and their effects on species diversity can be documented. However, in a broader ecological context, a cadaver is surrounded by external abiotic and biotic parameters that also affect species diversity. Measuring and analyzing both a cadaver and the surrounding environment data in conjunction with recorded species diversity can be especially useful when attempting to determine how long a cadaver has been in its current location, thus ultimately allowing for an estimated time since colonization. The primary hypothesis to be tested is that the biodiversity of carrion flies and beetles is dependent upon seasonal and climatic changes, as well as characteristics of a cadaver’s stage of decomposition. New models for the study of succession of arthropod adults on human remains of the East Texas area are being developed with the goal of generating a model that will enable investigators to more precisely determine the time since death by accurately estimating insect assemblages as a function of environmental factors.