Week 5: Sick Days & Thesis Outline

I was sick last week. I am not even sure what went on for the week. I started to feel unwell on Wednesday and by Thursday, I looked and felt like the walking dead and I was running a fever. I attended a thesis defense on Thursday afternoon and then went back to my dorm to lay down missing the rest of my History of Anthropology class. I woke up Friday feeling even worse and by noon decided that if I was going to be sick, I wanted to be home and in my own bed. I drove home all clammy and shaky, but I made it. Other than the fever and feeling like crud, I didn't have any other symptoms, which is weird, but I'll take it. I am not feeling totally better yet. I am more tired than usual, but no more fever. 

Since I missed class on Friday, I was not there for the stats midterm and for the Neanderthal discussion in Primate Evolution. I was looking forward to that. 

I will be home again this weekend for Mother's Day. :) 

I don't know if I have specifically said what I am doing for my thesis or not. I don't think I have. 

I am doing an experiment/case study to see if I can predict whether flies will lay their eggs (colonize) on beef liver (because flies love it and dead people on the lawn is frowned upon) based on climatic conditions (temperature, humidity, rain, wind, light intensity, barometric pressure). I am modeling the effect of climatic variables on the probability of bait colonization by blow and bottle flies. 

I am getting ready to begin data collection, most likely here in the Puget Sound Region as well as on the other side of the state near my house. Those climates are quite different and will give me some great data to work with. 

I came up with a rough outline. Feel free to make suggestions or ask questions. 

Predicting the Interval between Death and Insect Colonization Based on Climatic Conditions

Abstract

List of Tables

1.       Predicted Probability of bait colonization (ambient temp vs probability of colonization and percentage change)

2.       Number of colonization events per month (?) for main species

3.       Descriptive stats of colonization events over the range of relative humidities and rainfall

4.       Deceptive stats of colonization events over the range of wind speeds

5.       Descriptive stats of colonization vents over the range of barometric pressures

6.       Descriptive stats of colonization events over the range of light intensities

7.       Frequency of colonization events by each blow fly species at each habitat investigated

8.       Stages of Decomposition

List of Figures

1.       Blowfly and Bottlefly life cycle 

2.       Weather Data? (data logger)

3.       NOAA Weather Graphs

4.       Colonization Evidence (photos?)

5.       Map of Site Locations

Chapter 1: History of Forensic Anthropology/Forensic Entomology

1.       Forensic Anthropology

2.       Medicocriminal Forensic Entomology

a.       Application to Forensic Anthropology

b.       Application and Implications in Legal Investigations

Chapter 2: Early Postmortem Events

3.       Autolysis and Putrefaction (Decomposition)

4.       Variables affecting decomposition

5.       Postmortem Interval (Minimum and Maximum PMI—2 ways time of death is estimated)

Chapter 2: Blowfly Biology & Carrion Ecology

1.       Species Succession

2.       Oviposition

3.       Period of Insect Activity (PIA)

Chapter 3: Overview of Research Study

1.       Materials and Methods

2.       Colonization Medium

3.       Sampling Parameters

4.       Stats (Backwards sidewise logistic regression)

Chapter 4: Results

                Data Analysis (statistical analysis)

                                Species activity patterns

                                Yearly activity

                                Ambient Temperature

                                Moisture content: relative humidity and rainfall

                                Maximum wind speed

                                Barometric pressure

                                Light intensity

                                Habit preference

                                                Grass

                                                Short tree

                                                Tall tree

Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 6: Conclusions

References Cited

Appendix