Blow fly reproductive decisions and developmental outcomes mediated by biotic and abiotic environment drive community level dynamics

理解相互作用过程和机制的复杂性仍然是动物生理学，行为学和生态学预测应用的关键绊脚石之一。当所讨论的预测应用涉及使用昆虫证据估计无人看管的人类死亡时间时，这变得更加重要。昆虫证据包括可能存在的昆虫的所有发育阶段和相关碎片。它还包括任何昆虫行为，如昆虫进食，成虫到达身体的时间，以及在身体上产卵的时间和位置。这些信息对于尸体被发现之前的时间框架或状况具有证据价值。我的研究重点是昆虫的繁殖和觅食决策。我研究的结果，这些决定的生态和发展的后代在不同的非生物和生物压力自然和管理的农业生态系统。我建议评估人类衍生和生物因素如何相互作用，以改变苍蝇（双翅目：丽蝇科）的生殖决策和结果的后代在死亡动物为基础的资源系统。尽管这些生物指标直接适用于人类重要性的问题，但文献中有许多未经检验的假设，这些假设往往在整个家庭中推广。这些包括产卵的具体位置，产卵的时间，产卵的数量和发育的较低温度阈值。在北美36种利用腐肉或死亡动物的物种中，只有不到1/4的物种有基本的发育数据。即使有少数更好的研究物种，仍然存在争论，以降低温度阈值的发展和产卵的时间。关于其他影响的信息有限，如湿度或物种相互作用对这些生活史特征的影响。具体来说，我的研究将测量不同种类的苍蝇在一系列温度、湿度和不同类型的动物组织下产卵的时间和地点选择、产卵数量、后代的生存、大小和发育。这些生活史性状将单独测量个体蝇种，以及与其他蝇种组合测量物种组合对这些性状表达的影响。最后，我将测量不同类型的动物组织来源（即垃圾，道路杀死）的分布沿着梯度的人类影响，并测量这种影响对苍蝇物种多样性和分布。这项研究将提供重要的了解特定的打击蝇物种的生活史特征，有直接适用性的昆虫证据。这些数据将被用来研究物种如何在空间和时间上聚集在零散的、短暂的资源上的过程和功能的复杂性。

Understanding the complexity of interacting processes and mechanisms remains one of the critical stumbling blocks in predictive applications of animal physiology, behaviour and ecology. This becomes even more vital when the predictive application in question involves estimates of the time of death of unattended human deaths using insect evidence. Insect evidence includes all developmental stages and associated debris of insects that may be present. It also includes any insect behaviour such as insect feeding, timing of adult arrival to the body, and timing and location of egg laying on the body. This information provides evidentiary value regarding the time frame or conditions of the body prior to discovery. My research focuses on insect reproductive and foraging decisions. I examine the outcomes of those decisions on the ecology and development of offspring under different abiotic and biotic stresses within natural and managed agroecosystems. I propose to evaluate how human-derived and biological factors interact to change blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) reproductive decisions and outcomes for offspring in dead animal based resource systems. Despite the direct applicability of these biological metrics to issues of human importance, there are numerous untested assumptions in the literature that tend to be generalized across the family as a whole. These include the specific location that eggs are laid, timing of egg laying, numbers of eggs laid, and lower temperature thresholds for development. Of the 36 species in North America that utilize carrion, or dead animals, basic developmental data exists for less than 1/4 of these species. Even with the few better studied species, there is still debate as to lower temperature thresholds for development and timing of egg laying. There is limited information regarding other influences such as humidity or the effect of species interactions on these life history traits. Specifically, my research will measure timing and site selection of egg laying, number of eggs laid, survival, size and development of offspring of different species of blow flies at a range of temperatures, humidities and on different types of animal tissues. These life history traits will be measured for individual blow fly species on their own, as well as in combination with other blow fly species to measure the effect of species combinations on the expression of these traits. Finally, I will measure the distribution of different types of animal tissue sources (i.e. garbage, road kill) along a gradient of human influence and measure this effect on blow fly species diversity and distribution. This research will provide vital understanding of specific blow fly species life history traits which have direct applicability as insect evidence. These data will be used to examine the complexities in process and function of how species assemble over space and time on patchy, ephemeral resources.