Seasonal influence of carrion blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) colonization on the carcass microbiome

We investigated how seasonal weather patterns influence carrion decomposition by shaping both microbial succession and necrophagous insect activity. Using stillborn pig carcasses deployed in spring, summer, and fall, we characterized bacterial community dynamics across decomposition using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Microbiota were sampled from carcasses, larval masses, and individual fly larvae, alongside detailed taphonomic scoring and continuous environmental monitoring (temperature, humidity). These data were used to assess how abiotic conditions and blow fly colonization jointly structure necrobiome composition and diversity over time, and to evaluate the potential of microbiome-based models, including random forest approaches, for estimating postmortem interval (e.g., accumulated degree hours). This project provides a seasonally resolved dataset on carrion-associated bacterial communities that supports forensic, ecological, and entomological research on postmortem microbial succession.