Wei-Feng Hung

Thesis

Interaction between the chemical compounds emitted from the carcass and synanthropic insects behaviour

Summary

My research can be divided into a series of three experiments. Firstly I am interested in what chemical compounds are emitted from the various stages of a decomposing carcass. The gaseous compounds are collected by a carbotrap connected to a sampling pump and analysed by GC/MS. Secondly, what are the key compound(s) that attract flies to a decomposing carcass. The box design is capable of collecting gases and insects and a comparison will be made of the collected data. A modification of this experiment will be to determine at what stage of the decomposing process and again what chemical compounds attract beetles to the carcass . A Y-Tube experiment will be conducted presenting different chemical compounds to both flies and beetles. Finally, I would like to find out how these compounds affect the neural activity of flies and determine which neuron or cells are responsible for detecting odour from a carcass. These experiments will help answer some of the basic processes that attract insects to decomposing carcasses.

Why my research is important

The importance of this research is to understand what chemical compounds are emitted from a carcass, and determine if these chemicals change during the decomposition process. If odour changes are predicable then these odours should also be able to help determine a post-mortem interval.