Eric Benbow And some colleagues had several beer when Benbow came up with a new term for what they studied: necrobium. Although it sounds pretty lavcraft, the necrobium simply applies to all organisms associated with the decaying organism.
This includes everything, from microbes to insects, nematodes and garbage dummies of vertebrates, both birds and on Earth, explains Benbow, an ecologist from the University of Michigan, who studies necrobium.
What is necrobium
When the animal dies – and this includes you, dear reader – members of the necrobioma, both inside and out, begin to decompose the body. The first that begin to chew is microbes that live inside you, especially in your intestines. While you are alive, these microbes are controlled by your immune system. But as soon as you are dead, the immune system is no longer functioning.
That's when “they turn on us and begin to digest us from the inside,” says Jennifer DebrunEcological microbiologist from Tennessee University, who studies decomposition and biodegradation.
Our cells no longer receive oxygen (because we no longer breathe), so they die and release macromolecules, such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. She explains that microbes use these macromolecules as sources of food and energy.
Since there is no oxygen in the internal cavity of the body, this process is a type of anaerobic fermentation. And this produces a lot of gases, often forcing dead bodies to swell. That is why they have a unique terrible smell. When you travel in the forest and feel the smell of a dead animal, you mainly smell of microbial farts.
Soon, however, the internal microbes are connected by decomposers from the outside. These are mainly bacteria and mushrooms.
“The dead body is a fantastic resource for them, because it is full of nutrients and moisture,” says Debruin. In the end, insects and vertebrates, such as vultures, foxes and raccoons, join the holiday.
Necrobiom also decomposes plants. This is what happens in your heap of compost or in leaf garbage in the forest.
Read more: Worms can feel the smell of death, and this strangely changes their fertility and suitability
Hang out in a fool
One of the interesting research issues for Debruin is what is happening with these internal microbes after they finished digesting what was once their home. Its initial hypothesis was that intestinal microbes do not last a very long time in the outside world. They had very favorable conditions inside them. The temperature has always been 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Ferenhaite), there was stable reserves of nutrients, and oxygen.
“Thus, they had this rather dirty life,” she says. “My hypothesis consisted in the fact that as soon as they enter the soil environment, it looks like a wild West. There are huge fluctuations in temperature, moisture, pH, which they usually do not see. ”
But when she began the investigation, she was surprised. In one studyShe and her team tracked the DNA of the human intestinal microbe in the soil when the body decomposed. This specific bacterium needed an indifferent environment for life. Nevertheless, they found that it lasted many months in the soil. She suspects that the microbe survived, remaining in the puddles of fats and fat made by the body when it decomposes.
This “sticky mess”, as Debrun says, will lead to the fact that the soil will become anoxic in this area. In later experimentShe showed that intestinal microbes are not sleeping in this sticky mess; They are still active and involved in decomposition.
Microbes can help detectives
Not only does it process the necrobium, it also provides a lot of information. Experts can get a good idea of how long the body was dead by studying insects that colonize it, especially their number, type and stage of their life cycle. According to Benbow, this information was used in courts around the world.
The press practitioner of bacteria and fungi on the dead body is also informative. Benbow and colleagues Shown This analysis of the mason from the dead organism can show how long the body has been dead. However, this method has not yet been used in court. Income to this point will require additional research, including research on people, to develop reliable models for the method. This can take time, because there are not many people who conduct such studies, says Benbow.
Necrobia can also tell you whether the body was moved after death. Bacteria can be useful in this regard. The soil in the place of murder can reflect the microbial activity associated with the decomposition of a person, even if the body was transferred to another place, Benbow explains.
The circle of life
Whether it is an animal dying of natural causes or an unhappy sacrifice of the murder, by necrobium changes the local environment. The composition of the soil changes, just as when the dead plant substance turns into humus.
Overweight to cabinets also play a role here. For example, birds are often corrected on a dead body and around it. If they recently ate seeds from another region, they essentially plant these seeds. If the acidity of the soil and nutrients are right, plants can become established. According to Benbow, entire plant communities can change because the carcass attracted the bin that brings these seeds.
Although we tend to consider death as a tragic event, for nature it is only part of the cycle of life and death. And without necrobioma, to continue the cycle, we would be “covered with dead things,” says Debruin. “Decomopers are so important and not underestimated.”
Read more: Why don't we see any more dead animals walking through the forest?
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