Percorrer por autor "Rodrigues, Beatriz Bernardes"
A mostrar 1 - 1 de 1
Resultados por página
Opções de ordenação
- Environmental determinants of abundance, activity, and oviposition timing in Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae (Diptera)Publication . Rodrigues, Beatriz Bernardes; Família, Carlos; Mascarenhas, Paulo; Silva, Zoe daForensic entomology uses insects to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI), primarily through larval development (dbPMI). However, this method does not account for the time between death and the first egg deposition, the oviposition delay period, which is difficult to estimate as it depends on environmental factors such as temperature, light, and the presence of necrophagous insects. This study examines how weather conditions and the abundance of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae influence their activity and the time to oviposition. Abundance was assessed using pig liver bait and morphological identification, complemented by time-lapse video recordings and molecular confirmation of species through the COI and ITS2 gene regions. The most frequently recorded Calliphoridae species were Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vicina, Lucilia caesar, Chrysomya albiceps, Calliphora vomitoria, and several Sarcophaga species, including Sarcophaga carnaria, Sarcophaga sexpunctata, Sarcophaga variegata, Sarcophaga vagans, and Sarcophaga argyrostoma. Calliphora flies were generally the first to oviposit, with Calliphora vicina showing the shortest time to egg-laying. Molecular identification showed high concordance with morphological methods, and statistical modelling revealed that temperature and humidity are the main determinants of time to oviposition: warm, dry conditions accelerated egg-laying, whereas precipitation and low temperatures caused delays. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated a mean oviposition time of 22 hours (median 19 hours). In a forensic context, the log-linear model highlighted that the time of oviposition and rainfall were key factors influencing colonisation delay. In this model, oviposition occurred between 0.2 and 50.2 hours after bait placement, with a median of 11.2 hours and a mean of 17.5 hours. Overall, combining morphological and molecular identification with statistical models of oviposition delay improved the accuracy of PMI estimates. This integrated approach strengthens the reliability of entomological evidence in forensic investigations.