Scavenger Succession
Definition
The sequence in which vertebrate carrion feeders (dogs, coyotes, vultures, raccoons, rodents, feral pigs) interact with decomposing remains. Documented systematically by Haglund (1989, 1997) from ARF and Washington State casework data; produces characteristic bone-scatter and gnawing patterns.
- Species involved
- Dogs, coyotes, vultures, raccoons, rodents, feral pigs
- Key researcher
- William Haglund, 1989 and 1997
- Data source
- ARF and Washington State casework
- Produces
- Characteristic bone-scatter and gnawing patterns
Common questions
How does scavenger succession help estimate time since death?+
Because different scavenger species tend to arrive and dominate a carcass at different stages of decomposition, the specific pattern and extent of bone displacement and gnawing observed at a scene can indicate how long remains have been exposed.
Does scavenger succession differ by region?+
Yes, the species involved and their behaviour vary with local fauna and climate, which is why Haglund's original Pacific Northwest findings are supplemented with regional studies before being applied to a different geographic setting.
Related terms
- Accumulated Degree Days (ADD)
- The sum of daily mean temperatures above a threshold (usually 0 °C) over a period of interest. Used as a measure of...
- AFTER
- Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research, University of Technology Sydney (2016). First body farm outside the United States; subtropical eastern Australian decomposition...
- Anthropology Research Facility (ARF)
- The first outdoor human decomposition research facility, established by William M. Bass at the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 1981. The foundational...
- Cadaver Decomposition Island (CDI)
- The localised area of soil and vegetation altered by the decomposition fluids and gases released from a body. A CDI has a...
- FACTS
- Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State, San Marcos Texas. Semi-arid Hill Country climate, providing a third distinct US regional ADD calibration baseline...
- Human Tissue Act 2004 (HTA)
- UK legislation governing the use of human tissue for scheduled purposes including research. Any outdoor human decomposition research facility in the United...
- Necrobiome
- The microbial community associated with a decomposing body, encompassing the thanatomicrobiome (internal community at the time of death) and the successive soil...
- STAFS
- Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville Texas (2009). The second major US body farm; subtropical humid Gulf...
- Willed-Body Donation
- The voluntary, pre-mortem consent by an individual to donate their remains to a specific research programme after death. Distinguished from anatomical donation...