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                            Funding & Awards
 Human decomposition: A mosaic model for community succession and implications for future forensic research
Award Information
Awardee
              Sam Houston State University
Award #
              2012-DN-BX-K023
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Huntsville, TX
Awardee County
              Walker
Congressional District
              8
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2012
Total funding (to date)
              $304,961
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 12 Basic Scientific Research to Support Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2012, $304,961)
Decomposition is a mosaic ecosystem where an intimate association between biotic factors (such as the corpse, intrinsic and extrinsic bacteria, and insects) and abiotic factors (such as weather and climate) exists. Despite the integral role of bacteria in the decomposition process, very little is understood regarding the bacterial basis of decomposition or its function in insect recruitment (or repulsion) to a corpse. Based on a recent call from the National Research Councils Committee on Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Sciences (2009), we argue that viewing the ecosystem of decomposition as a static snapshot in time will yield an inaccurate representation of the dynamic process of decomposition. To accomplish our goal of understanding decomposition as a mosaic ecosystem, we propose to conduct the first holistic investigation uniting the disparate fields of microbiology, entomology, and chemistry to better investigate the sum of the parts of the ecosystem. We will attempt to characterize the bacterial species community (microbiome) through the entire decomposition process by 1) attempting to identify bacteria significant to the decomposition process of the body, introduced by the soil, and introduced by flies, 2) attempting to collect and characterize gasses emanating from the cadaver at different times during decomposition, 3) attempting to correlate species of insects present with bacteria present by linking them through their bacterial gaseous by-products, and 4) designing specific and novel comparative and forecasting models to characterize the change in bacterial and insect succession through time, which will ultimately aid in estimation of the postmortem interval through providing a more precise method of analysis. For our experiment, we will identify bacteria, gasses produced, and insects present during the stages of decomposition by testing a set of two cadavers per season for three years. Bacterial samples will be taken from four locations on each body throughout the decomposition process and also be sampled from soil and colonizing flies. We anticipate that bacterial species guild (i.e., complexes of species in an ecosystem that exploit the same resources) change over time will modulate the rate of decomposition. Our research will link together disparate areas of biology, chemistry, and forensics allowing us to test our ultimate hypothesis: that bacterial species guild changes over time drive decomposition and fundamentally modulate the tempo and mode of decomposition.

ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      The microbiome of fly organs and fly-human microbial transfer during decomposition
                  Microbiome Tools for Forensic Science
                  Human Decomposition: A Mosaic Model for Community Succession and Implications for Future Forensic Research
                  Microbial Community Assembly and Metabolic Function During Mammalian Corpse Decomposition
                  Initial Insights into Bacterial Succession During Human Decomposition
                  Terrestrial Laser Scanning and a Degenerated Cylinder Model to Determine Gross Morphological Change of Cadavers under Conditions of Natural Decomposition

  
Date Created: August 22, 2012
    
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