Effect of Psychoactive Drugs on Demographic Parameters of the Blow Fly Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Knowledge of the factors influencing the ecology of blow flies, especially the dynamic population equilibrium, is essential in forensic entomology. However, lack of knowledge of the action of psychoactive drugs on the population dynamics of these flies may affect the inferences that experts must make in medico-legal reports. This study evaluated the effects of amphetamine and phenobarbital on the population dynamics of Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann), by combining laboratory experimentation and mathematical modelling. Only amphetamine and its control, methanol, influenced the qualitative dynamic behaviour of Chrysomya albiceps, stabilising chaotic populations. The results are discussed in an ecological and forensic context. may, when combined with phenobarbital, enhance its action [18]. Barbiturates ranked in second place among the drugs used in suicide attempts in the state of Goiás, Central-West Brazil, in 2003-2004.Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are among the first insects to perceive and colonise vertebrate remains [2,21]. Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) originated in the Old World tropics, and over time spread around the world, reaching Brazil in 1975Brazil in or 1976. The species is of major forensic importance, allowing the estimation of the PMI min [21] and also the detection of ante-mortem use of drugs and toxins [24]. The establishment of Chrysomya species in Brazil affected the dynamic behaviour of native blow flies, causing the decline of populations of Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius) and, to a lesser extent, Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann) [25].Calliphorid flies breed in discrete generations, displaying high sensitivity in demographic parameters influenced by larval density, which are usually closely associated with population equilibrium [25]. Mathematical models involving the analysis of fly population growth are powerful analytical tools for describing the long-term effects of ecological and behavioural patterns that are important for population dynamics, which are especially relevant for the demographic interpretation of species of medical-veterinary and forensic importance [25].The theory of population dynamics of single species has been applied extensively over the last 20 years to study both introduced and native blow fly species, in order to better understand aspects of the population biology of each species [25,26]. These studies have revealed important differences in the dynamics of population equilibrium Citation: Gião JZ, Reigada C, Moretti TC, Godoy WAC (2017) Effect of Psychoactive Drugs on Demographic Parameters of the Blow Fly Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J Forensic Res 8: 400.