The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology

Development of insects in laboratory for minimum post mortem interval estimation (mPMI) or time of colonisation (TOC) in forensic entomology can be affected by the type and quality of food consumed during larval period. Since mPMI estimation also involves analysis of larval specimens collected from...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Nur Aqidah Ahmad, Amirah Suhailah Ramli, Raja Muhammad Zuha Raja Kamal Bashah
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2018
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/1/15811-69328-1-PB.pdf

id	ukm-11496
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-114962018-04-02T02:54:52Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/ The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology Nur Aqidah Ahmad, Amirah Suhailah Ramli, Raja Muhammad Zuha Raja Kamal Bashah, Development of insects in laboratory for minimum post mortem interval estimation (mPMI) or time of colonisation (TOC) in forensic entomology can be affected by the type and quality of food consumed during larval period. Since mPMI estimation also involves analysis of larval specimens collected from burned human remains, it is important to study if burned tissues could affect growth of sarcosaprophagous larvae. This study investigated the effect of burned tissues on the size and developmental period of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae), a species of forensic importance. Development of M. scalaris on 75 g burned cow’s liver was compared with control liver in three study replicates. Mean larval length (2.87 ± 0.11 mm) and weight (0.81 ± 0.08 mg) of M. scalaris larvae in burned liver diets were significantly lower than larval length (5.03 ± 0.15 mm) and weight (2.85 ± 0.21 mg) of control liver diets (p < 0.001) whilst mean pupal length (2.53 ± 0.06 mm) and weight (0.92 ± 0.06 mg) in burned liver diets were significantly lower than pupal length (3.52 ± 0.06 mm) and weight (2.84 ± 0.16 mg) in control liver diets (p < 0.001). Development of larvae in burned liver was 5-9 hours slower than those feeding on control liver based on single observation. Although the assessment is preliminary, the findings indicate physical growth of larvae feeding on burned animal tissues was affected and entomological specimens recovered from burned remains should be evaluated carefully to avoid errors in mPMI/TOC estimation. Limitations and suggestions for further research are also presented herein Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2018 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/1/15811-69328-1-PB.pdf Nur Aqidah Ahmad, and Amirah Suhailah Ramli, and Raja Muhammad Zuha Raja Kamal Bashah, (2018) The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology. Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia, 16 (1). pp. 29-33. ISSN 1675-8161 http://ejournal.ukm.my/jskm/issue/view/684
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	Development of insects in laboratory for minimum post mortem interval estimation (mPMI) or time of colonisation (TOC) in forensic entomology can be affected by the type and quality of food consumed during larval period. Since mPMI estimation also involves analysis of larval specimens collected from burned human remains, it is important to study if burned tissues could affect growth of sarcosaprophagous larvae. This study investigated the effect of burned tissues on the size and developmental period of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae), a species of forensic importance. Development of M. scalaris on 75 g burned cow’s liver was compared with control liver in three study replicates. Mean larval length (2.87 ± 0.11 mm) and weight (0.81 ± 0.08 mg) of M. scalaris larvae in burned liver diets were significantly lower than larval length (5.03 ± 0.15 mm) and weight (2.85 ± 0.21 mg) of control liver diets (p < 0.001) whilst mean pupal length (2.53 ± 0.06 mm) and weight (0.92 ± 0.06 mg) in burned liver diets were significantly lower than pupal length (3.52 ± 0.06 mm) and weight (2.84 ± 0.16 mg) in control liver diets (p < 0.001). Development of larvae in burned liver was 5-9 hours slower than those feeding on control liver based on single observation. Although the assessment is preliminary, the findings indicate physical growth of larvae feeding on burned animal tissues was affected and entomological specimens recovered from burned remains should be evaluated carefully to avoid errors in mPMI/TOC estimation. Limitations and suggestions for further research are also presented herein
format	Article
author	Nur Aqidah Ahmad, Amirah Suhailah Ramli, Raja Muhammad Zuha Raja Kamal Bashah,
spellingShingle	Nur Aqidah Ahmad, Amirah Suhailah Ramli, Raja Muhammad Zuha Raja Kamal Bashah, The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology
author_facet	Nur Aqidah Ahmad, Amirah Suhailah Ramli, Raja Muhammad Zuha Raja Kamal Bashah,
author_sort	Nur Aqidah Ahmad,
title	The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology
title_short	The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology
title_full	The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology
title_fullStr	The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology
title_full_unstemmed	The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology
title_sort	effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of megaselia scalaris (loew) (diptera: phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology
publisher	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate	2018
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11496/1/15811-69328-1-PB.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T19:01:01Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T19:01:01Z
_version_	1777406815715196928

The effect of burned liver on the length, weight and development of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) – a preliminary assessment and implications in forensic entomology

Similar Items