Centre for Forensic Research, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC Canada.
PLoS One. 2020 Apr 15;15(4):e0231207. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231207. eCollection 2020.
In order to investigate the impact of confinement in a car trunk on decomposition and insect colonization of carcasses, three freshly killed pig (Sus scrofa domesticus Erxleben) carcasses were placed individually in the trunks of older model cars and deployed in a forested area in the southwestern region of British Columbia, Canada, together with three freshly killed carcasses which were exposed in insect-accessible protective cages in the same forest. Decomposition rate and insect colonization of all carcasses were examined twice a week for four weeks. The exposed carcasses were colonized immediately by Calliphora latifrons Hough and Calliphora vomitoria (L.) followed by Lucilia illustris (Meigen), Phormia regina (Meigen) and Protophormia terraenovae (R.-D.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). There was a delay of three to six days before the confined carcasses were colonized, first by P. regina, followed by Pr. terraenovae. These species represented the vast majority of blow fly species on the confined carcasses. Despite the delay in colonization, decomposition progressed much more rapidly in two of the confined carcasses in comparison with the exposed carcasses due to the greatly increased temperatures inside the vehicles, with the complete skeletonization of two of the confined carcasses ocurring between nine and 13 days after death. One confined carcass was an anomaly, attracting much fewer insects, supporting fewer larval calliphorids and decomposing much more slowly than other carcasses, despite similarly increased temperatures. It was later discovered that the vehicle in which this carcass was confined had a solid metal fire wall between the passenger area and the trunk, which served to reduce insect access and release of odors. These data may be extremely valuable when analyzing cadavers found inside vehicle trunks.
为了研究在汽车后备箱中禁闭对尸体分解和昆虫定殖的影响，将三头新鲜宰杀的猪（Sus scrofa domesticus Erxleben）尸体分别放置在旧款汽车的后备箱中，并与三头放置在森林中可让昆虫进入的保护笼中的新鲜宰杀的尸体一起部署在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省西南部的森林中。每周两次检查所有尸体的分解率和昆虫定殖情况，共进行四周。暴露的尸体立即被 Calliphora latifrons Hough 和 Calliphora vomitoria (L.) 定殖，随后是 Lucilia illustris (Meigen)、Phormia regina (Meigen) 和 Protophormia terraenovae (R.-D.)（双翅目：Calliphoridae）。禁闭的尸体被定殖有三到六天的延迟，首先是 P. regina，然后是 Pr. terraenovae。这些物种代表了禁闭尸体上绝大多数的蝇种。尽管定殖延迟，但由于车内温度大大升高，与暴露的尸体相比，两个禁闭的尸体的分解速度要快得多，两个禁闭的尸体在死亡后 9 至 13 天内完全骨骼化。一具禁闭的尸体是一个异常情况，吸引的昆虫少得多，支持的幼虫 Calliphoridae 少得多，分解速度也比其他尸体慢得多，尽管温度也有所升高。后来发现，禁闭这具尸体的车辆在乘客区和后备箱之间有一个坚固的金属防火墙，这有助于减少昆虫进入和气味散发。当分析在汽车后备箱中发现的尸体时，这些数据可能非常有价值。
