A&M

Higher order scavengers are selected to have mechanisms countering competition strategies used by microbes also colonizing food-falls. These responses could be behavioral 4 or physiological 5,6. The burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera: Silphidae), which depends on small carrion as a breeding site, have evolved counterstrategies to suppress microbial communities in order to reduce competition for these resources 6. In turn, the presence of some microbes was detrimental to immature development and reproductive success of the burying beetle 6. The blow fly Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in many instances will colonize and feed on necrotic tissue in wounds on living individuals, and their salivary excretions have antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus A and B, as well as Pseudomonas sp 7. Similarly, house fly, Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae), larvae in target food-falls reduce the growth of competing fungi 4. However, interactions..

Primary location: J., Et United States