"The objectives of this work were to first, classify the insect and microbe interactions associated with carrion decomposition; and second, evaluate the variability in post-colonization interval (PCI) estimates among temperature sources and Calliphoridae species. Replicate (N = 6) swine carcasses were placed in a field and sampled regularly throughout decomposition. The ambient temperature at varying distances from the carcasses was recorded, and samples of larvae and their associated microbiomes were collected. Microbial communities were characterized using 16s amplicon sequencing. I hypothesized that insect and microbial community composition would shift over time and that different microbial communities would become more similar to each other over time. Additionally, I predicted that different Calliphoridae species would produce different accumulated degree hour (ADH) ranges and the closest temperature data set to the carcass would result in a more accurate PCI estimate. Larval masses consisted of three Calliphoridae species (Cochliomyia macellaria, Lucilia coeruleiviridis, and Phormia regina) whose relative abundances shifted over time. Microbial communities of the carcass surface, maggot mass, and internal larvae also changed over time as well as among the different locations. The closest temperature source produced the greatest ADH range but the estimated PCI was most similar to ADH ranges generated from local and regional weather station data. These findings are relevant for both carrion ecology and the forensic sciences by contributing to the understanding of the effect of carrion within ecosystems as well as advancing a new direction of forensic microbiology and the quantification of variability in forensic entomology"--Page ii.
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