MARINE TAPHONOMY

Sina Kipry

Decomposition and faunal scavenging of carcasses have been well documented in terrestrial environments, but decompositional processes in a marine environment are poorly understood. Two 30 lb pig carcasses were deployed in Pensacola Bay, Pensacola, Florida and observed for 15 days. The carcasses were deployed in spring (April) at a depth of 3.5 m, one carcass in a cage and one exposed, and were observed once a day when possible. Dissolved oxygen, salinity, water temperature, and ambient air temperature were measured at each site visit. Carcasses were observed directly by removing the platform from the water, and remotely via GoPro video footage. Four stages of decomposition were observed: fresh, early decomposition, advanced decomposition, and skeletonization. The caged carcass went through all stages and reached full skeletonization on day 15. The uncaged carcass went through the first two stages before being lost on day 8 of the study. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus), shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), hermit crabs (Pagurus sp.), gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta), and pinfish (Lagadon rhomboides) were all observed scavenging the carcasses, although not in mass. Six bones (one femur, three humeri, a vertebra, and a mandible) showed evidence of scavenging. This study indicates that stages of decomposition do occur in shallow marine environments, and that scavenging can introduce postmortem damage to the bones. Studies like this one can provide valuable information on marine taphonomy which can be useful in medico-legal investigations.

MARINE TAPHONOMY

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MARINE TAPHONOMY

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