Defilippo Francesco, Munari Martina, Grisendi Annalisa, Gaudio Rosa Maria, D'Incau Mario, Lavazza Antonio, Rubini Silva
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagnia (IZSLER), Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Section of Legal Medicine and LTTA Centre, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
Insects. 2023 Jun 19;14(6):566. doi: 10.3390/insects14060566.
In recent years, burial systems have covered increasingly higher costs due to the pollution caused by decomposition products. These products are understood as chemicals and microorganisms in the surrounding soil and groundwater and represent a topical issue. The purpose of this research was to ascertain the extent of decomposition when pig carcasses are buried in two different burial systems ("aerated" vs. "watertight") and catalogue the arthropods associated with burials at different time-points of removal from niches (after 6, 12, 24, 36, and 60 months). Thirteen taxa were collected in aerated niches, whereas five were collected in watertight niches. The initial access or exclusion of insect colonisers affected overall functional activity. Two Diptera species, and , were the most abundant, supporting the hypothesis that insects can colonise carcasses in aerated burial systems. Furthermore, some species of bacteria have been documented as facilitators of the initial decomposition process of the carcass. Most bacterial colonies develop only in aerated niches. The trial showed that the first enzymatic-bacterial and insect actions helped promote the process of cadaveric decomposition and later skeletonisation, mainly when associated with aeration modes of the tomb/mound. The results obtained provide essential information on the process of human decomposition and taphonomy in cemeteries. Moreover, these data could benefit forensic science by adding information on insect colonisation and body modification in medico-legal investigations concerning the post-mortem interval in exhumed bodies and illegal burials.
近年来，由于分解产物造成的污染，埋葬系统的成本越来越高。这些产物被认为是周围土壤和地下水中的化学物质和微生物，是一个热门问题。本研究的目的是确定猪尸体埋在两种不同埋葬系统（“通气型”与“防水型”）中的分解程度，并对在不同时间点（6、12、24、36和60个月后）从壁龛中取出时与埋葬相关的节肢动物进行编目。在通气壁龛中收集到13个分类单元，而在防水壁龛中收集到5个。昆虫定居者的最初进入或排除影响了整体功能活动。两种双翅目物种，即[物种名称1]和[物种名称2]，最为丰富，支持了昆虫可以在通气埋葬系统中在尸体上定殖的假设。此外，一些细菌物种已被记录为尸体初始分解过程的促进者。大多数细菌菌落仅在通气壁龛中生长。试验表明，最初的酶促-细菌和昆虫活动有助于促进尸体分解和随后的骨骼化过程，主要是在与坟墓/土堆的通气模式相关时。获得的结果提供了关于墓地中人体分解和埋藏学过程的基本信息。此外，这些数据可以通过在涉及挖掘尸体和非法埋葬的法医调查中提供关于昆虫定殖和尸体变化的信息，从而造福于法医学。
