Associational Patterns of Scavenger Beetles to Decomposition Stages

Abstract

Beetles associated with carrion play an important role in recycling organic matter in an ecosystem. Four experiments on decomposition, one per season, were conducted in a semi-rural area in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Melyridae are reported for the first time of forensic interest. Apart from adults and larvae of Scarabaeidae, thirteen species and two genera of other Coleopteran families are new forensic records in Argentina. Diversity, abundance and species composition of beetles showed differences between stages and/or seasons. Our results differed from other studies conducted in temperate regions. Four guilds and succession patterns were established in relation to decomposition stages and seasons. Dermestidae (necrophages) predominated in winter during the decomposition process; Staphylinidae (necrophiles) in Fresh and Bloat stage during spring, summer and autumn; and Histeridae (necrophiles) and Cleridae (omnivores) in the following stages during those seasons. Finally, Coleopteran activity, diversity and abundance, and decomposition rate, change with bio-geo-climatic characteristics, which is of significance in forensics.