Primary Coloniser
Definition
A species that exploits the body directly, typically arriving at or very soon after death, before decomposition has substantially modified the resource. Most blow fly and flesh fly species are primary colonisers.
Related terms
- Carrion Succession
- The predictable, roughly sequential replacement of insect communities on a decomposing body, driven by changing chemical substrate. Not a strict relay with...
- Faunal Assemblage
- The complete community of arthropod species present at a body at a given time. Comparing an observed assemblage against reference succession data...
- Secondary Coloniser
- A species that requires a chemical or physical change produced by primary colonisers before it can exploit the resource: cheese skippers attracted...
- Successional PMI Window
- The time range implied by knowing that the body is in a particular succession stage. Broader than a development-based estimate but extends...
- Tertiary Coloniser
- A predator or parasite that feeds on primary or secondary colonisers rather than directly on the body. Their presence on a corpse...
Explained in
- Insect Succession Waves on a CorpseA species that exploits the body directly, typically arriving at or very soon after death, before decomposition has substantially modified the resource. Most b...