2026-05-22T14:06:24Zhttps://keep.lib.asu.edu/oai/request

oai:keep.lib.asu.edu:node-2014082025-06-10T17:41:44Zoai_pmh:alloai_pmh:repo_items

201408 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.201408 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 2025-05 35 pages Browning, Emmalee Bolhofner, Katelyn Harris, Jacob Barrett, The Honors College College of Health Solutions School of Interdisciplinary Forensics The rate of decomposition is affected by many different variables, and one of these variables is maggot activity. While other factors of decomposition have been widely studied, the factors that affect the activity of maggots are under-researched. Since the activity of these maggots is important, knowing how simple factors like temperature can impact these insects is crucial when attempting to estimate metrics like the PMI. This study examines the relationship between temperature and maggot activity across 4 pigs in 2 different locations, Phoenix and Prescott, AZ, that were constantly recorded with cameras. Each location had a “shade pig” and a “sun pig” that were scored for maggot activity. This score was then directly compared to collected temperature data in a series of correlation tests and was found that the Prescott sun pig had a correlation coefficient of -0.09 (α = 95%; p = 0.1514), the Prescott shade pig had a correlation coefficient of 0.12 (p = 0.0297), the Phoenix sun pig had a correlation coefficient of -0.39 (p = 1.6 x 10^-12), and the Phoenix shade pig had a correlation coefficient of -0.34 (p = 8.3 x 10^-11). The overall results indicate that the relationship between maggot activity and temperature is exponential, and that as temperatures increase so does the strength of the relationship. In forensic casework, when estimating the PMI in cases in warmer climates the PMI should be underestimated to account for the decrease in maggot activity, but temperature may not need to be considered as heavily in cases with colder climates. Decomposition Maggots Postmortem interval Decomposition in the Desert: Regional Analysis of the Effect of Temperature on Maggot Activity