A study of insect succession on submerged sunfish carrion / by Wayne Allan Gardner.

Author/creator Gardner, Wayne Allan author.
Other author McDaniel, Susan J., degree supervisor.
Other author East Carolina University. Department of Biology.
Format Theses and dissertations
Production1974.
Description45 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm
Supplemental ContentAccess via ScholarShip
Subjects

Summary Factors affecting the decomposition of submerged sunfish carrion were determined in a pond habitat in Pitt County, North Carolina, from mid-June to mid-November in 1973 and in mid-July 1974. Significant changes in the number of insects associated with the carrion as decay progressed were observed; however, an analysis of changes in the types of insects associated with the carrion yielded no significant evidence of the occurrence of insect succession on the submerged carrion. Field studies indicated that the aquatic environment, the habitat temperature, and the inhabitant arthropods influenced the rate and course of decay of the submerged sunfish carrion. The aqueous environment prevented any loss of moisture from the flesh of the carrion, thereby facilitating its complete disposal, and effectively limited the types of organisms invading the carrion to only those adapted to an aquatic or semiaquatic existence. The duration of the bloated state and the deflation-decomposition condition was found to be inversely related to the habitat temperature. Decomposition was also found to be significantly hastened by the presence of arthropods which evidently fed upon the carrion and aided in disseminating other saprophagous organisms.
Local noteJoyner-"Presented to the faculty of the Department of Biology ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Biology."
General notePresented to the Faculty of the Department of Biology
General noteAdvisor: Susan J. McDaniel
Dissertation noteM.A. East Carolina University 1974
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliography and abstract.
Genre/formAcademic theses.
Genre/formAcademic theses.
Genre/formThèses et écrits académiques.

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