Temperature and pH dynamics during carcass decomposition and implications for disease management

Infectious diseases in wildlife threaten not only those species but also domestic animals and human health, necessitating strategies to prevent pathogen spread. The natural decomposition of carcasses may lead to pathogen inactivation due to associated increases in temperature and changes in the pH of the carcass and in the surrounding soil. In this study, the internal temperatures of 64 decomposing wild boar carcasses, the pH in the topsoil beneath 74 carcasses, and the pH of muscle and rectal tissue from 12 carcasses were monitored throughout the decomposition process. Carcass temperatures increased during decomposition, frequently exceeding 30°C during aerobic decomposition in summer (maximum 58°C). The pH in the carcasses increased until skeletonization, ranging from pH 4 to above pH 8. Soil pH also continuously increased during the decomposition, reaching a pH above 9 and remaining stable for at least 30 days post-skeletonization. The information on natural carcass decomposition pro..., , , # Temperature and pH dynamics during carcass decomposition and implications for disease management

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.q83bk3jrt](10.5061/dryad.q83bk3jrt)

## Description of the data and file structure

Use the relevant script and data for each analysis. E.g., pH soil: use \"pHSoil\" dataset and \"pHSoil-Script\". 

### Files and variables

#### File: pHSoil.csv, Temperature.csv, pHWB.CSV

**Description:** 

##### Variables

* Variables:

ID: plot number

MSWB: wild boar in a cage

DOY: Day of the year

Day: day since carcass placement/start of the experiment

exposition_date: date of carcass placement

Series: placement series (4-5 carcasses each series)

Site/IDday: ID and Day

Dercomp: Decomposition stage (1-6, i.e., fresh, putrefaction, bloated, post-bloated, advanced decay, dry remains)

Date: date

DatePH: date of measurement

Time: time of measurement

pH: pH value (1-14)

Temperature: of medium (°C)

pHMin/Max/Mean: minimum, maximum, mean pH

W...,