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Current Concepts in Forensic Entomology pp 223–272Cite as

Decomposition and Invertebrate Colonization of Cadavers in Coastal Marine Environments

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Abstract

The decomposition of a body on land and the interaction between the body and its insect fauna have been well studied, and predictable insect development and colonization patterns have been described from many countries, geographical regions, habitats and seasons (reviewed in Anderson 2009). However, despite the oceans’ vast area, little is known about human or animal decomposition and the associated faunal dynamics in the marine environment. Knowledge of the effects of body submergence is important as many homicide victims are disposed of in the ocean in an effort to get rid of the body and a much greater number of people are lost in the marine environment to drowning, boating or airplane accidents. In all these cases, it is important to the investigators and to family members to understand what has happened to the decedent from the time they were last seen alive, to the time of discovery. This has been particularly highlighted recently when six individual feet, shod in running shoes, washed ashore along the Southern British Columbia, Canada coastline, with a seventh found a few kilometres south in the US’ San Juan Islands.

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Acknowledgments

This sort of research cannot be done alone and I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many people who donated hundreds of hours of in-kind support to this work, in the form of divers, boats, hovercrafts and field technicians. I would like to thank the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in particular, Sgt. Ken Burton, Skipper of the Nadon, and all the RCMP divers that helped in my research; the Canadian Coast Guard and all the many divers, boat and hovercraft operators that assisted; the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Research Centre, in particular Dr. Jeff Marliave and Mr. Jeremy Heyward; and the Canadian Amphibious Search team, in particular, Mr. Tim MacFarlane and all the divers of CAST. I would particularly like to thank the VENUS project; Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe, the Project Director, for inviting me onboard and Mr. Paul Macoun, Dr. Richard Dewey and Mr. Adrian Round for their continuous support. I also wish to thank Ms. Niki Hobischak for her ongoing assistance.

This work was partially funded by the Canadian Police Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and I wish to thank Ms. Julie Graham and Mr. Steve Palmer for their support. Finally, and most importantly, I wish to thank Cpl. Bob Teather, RCMP, CV (deceased), for inspiring all my marine work and for providing advice, support and encouragement throughout. He is greatly missed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

    Gail S. Anderson

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  1. Gail S. Anderson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. FB 16 Medizin, Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt, Kennedyallee 104, Frankfurt, 60596, Germany

    Jens Amendt

  2. Forensic Science Program, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Waialae Ave. 3140, Honolulu, 96816-1578, U.S.A.

    M.Lee Goff

  3. Dipto. Scienze per la Salute, Università Molise, Via De Sanctis, Campobasso, 86100, Italy

    Carlo P. Campobasso

  4. Pathologisch-Bakteriologisches Institut, Krankenanstalt Rudolfstiftung, Juchgasse 25, Wien, 1030, Austria

    Martin Grassberger

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Anderson, G.S. (2009). Decomposition and Invertebrate Colonization of Cadavers in Coastal Marine Environments. In: Amendt, J., Goff, M., Campobasso, C., Grassberger, M. (eds) Current Concepts in Forensic Entomology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9684-6_12

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