blow flies visiting decaying alligators is succession synchronous or asynchronous吹飞参观腐烂的鳄鱼是连续同步或异步.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Psyche Volume 2009, Article ID 575362, 7 pages doi:10.1155/2009/575362 Research Article Blow Flies Visiting Decaying Alligators: Is Succession Synchronous or Asynchronous? Mark P. Nelder,1, 2 John W. McCreadie,1 and Clinton S. Major1 1 Department of Biology, University of South Alabama, Life Sciences Building, Room 124, 307 University Boulevard, Mobile, AL 36688, USA 2 Center for Vector Biology, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University-School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, 180 Jones Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Mark P. Nelder, mnelder@ Received 12 May 2008; Revised 27 August 2008; Accepted 15 September 2008 Recommended by Martin H. Villet Succession patterns of adult blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on decaying alligators were investigated in Mobile (Ala, USA) during August 2002. The most abundant blow fly species visiting the carcasses were Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricus), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricus), Phormia regina (Meigen), and Lucilia coeruleiviridis (Macquart). Lucilia coeruleiviridis was collected more often during the early stages of decomposition, followed by Chrysomya spp., Cochliomyia macellaria, and Phormia regina in the later stages. Lucilia coeruleiviridis was the only synchronous blow fly on the three carcasses; other blow fly species exhibited only site-specific synchrony. Using dichotomous correlations and analyses of variance, we demonstrated that blow fly-community succession was asynchronous among three alligators; however, Monte Carlo simulations indicate that there was some degree of synchrony between the carcasses. Copyright © 2009 Mark P. Nelder et al. This is an