Tracking Movement and Temperature Selection of Larvae of Two Forensically Important Blow Fly Species Within a “Maggot Mass” |
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Authors: | Aidan P Johnson PhD Samuel J Wighton James F Wallman PhD |
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Institution: | 1. Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, , Wollongong, NSW, 2522 Australia;2. , Cordeaux Heights, NSW, 2526 Australia |
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Abstract: | The current study responds to the lack of understanding about the temperatures experienced by individual blow fly larvae within “maggot masses.” The temperature selection of both aggregating (in a mass) and nonaggregating larvae was compared and their pattern of movement assessed. Infrared imaging determined the temperatures within a mass and in the vicinity of the constituent individual larvae, whose movements were tracked by dyeing their tissues red. Individual Chrysomya rufifacies larvae selected temperatures above 27°C, significantly higher than the temperature selected by Calliphora vicina larvae (24.5°C). However, this same difference was not seen within a mass, with both species selecting temperatures around 28°C. Larval movement in a mass was nonrandom, indicating that larvae actively select their position in a mass. Furthermore, larvae have a strong tendency to select the hottest part of a mass; therefore, maximum mass temperatures might provide a reliable proxy for the actual temperatures experienced by larvae. |
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Keywords: | forensic science forensic entomology temperature selection thermal regulation path analysis temperature gradient maggot mass
Chrysomya rufifacies
Calliphora vicina
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