Scavenger community and carrion decomposition in a Tibetan alpine meadow

Animal carrion, an ephemeral but nutritional resource, supports diverse
invertebrate species involved in the decomposition process. Necrophagous
flies, as primary colonizers, can largely affect the invertebrate
community and associated carrion removal; however, the effect of fly
exclusion on invertebrate decomposers and associated carrion decomposition
has been poorly understood.    To address this gap, we
conducted a field experiment to investigate the response of arthropod
scavengers and carrion removal to fly exclusion using yak carrion and
chicken carrion in a Tibetan alpine meadow. Results show that flies
(maggots) and necrophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) were the
predominant scavengers on both yak carrion and chicken carrion in the
Tibetan alpine meadow. Maggots, necrophagous beetles, and predatory
beetles responded differently to carrion types. Specifically, during the
early stages of decomposition, maggots were more abundant on chicken
carrion compared to yak carrion, while necrophagous beetles and predatory
beetles dominated yak carrion during the late stages. The exclusion of
flies significantly decreased both the richness and abundance of
arthropods, as well as the decomposition rate of chicken carrion but not
yak carrion. Our findings clearly demonstrate that excluding flies can
modify temporal successional traits and structure of scavenger community,
as well as decomposition rates of both chicken carrion and yak carrion,
albeit with varying effect degrees. This study represents a comprehensive
investigation into the influences of necrophagous flies and carrion type
on carrion decomposition on the Tibetan Plateau, which holds important
implications for understanding necrophilous assemblages.