International Journal of Toxins and Toxics Review Article

Zoology in Forensic Science: Unraveling Mysteries through Animal Clues

  1. Shubham Sah School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
  2. Neelabh Datta School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
  3. Deepa Kumari School of Biology, Central University of Haryana

Abstract

Traditionally, forensic wisdom has been grounded on mortal substantiation similar as fingerprints, DNA, and bloodstains to unravel the riddle of crimes. There's important untapped eventuality in the beast area that could unravel mystifications and bring culprits to justice. This composition explores the instigative area of crossroad of zoology and forensic wisdom by demonstrating how suggestions from creatures can be significantly contributed to felonious examinations. From beast poisons in analysis to DNA that gives suggestions on ancient living surroundings, the kind of material zoological substantiation provides is unmatched. Beast actions, commerce, and adaption can help restore your crime scene, identify suspects, and occasionally place death hour. For illustration, the presence of some species of insects on a dead body may give veritably useful information about the posthumous interval, while analysis of beast hair or fur can link a suspect to a crime scene. also, zoology can explain crimes involving wildlife trafficking, coddling, and beast atrocity. Through assaying the remaining cadavers of creatures, DNA samples, and trade records, there will be traceability of the origin of wildlife products, and the identification of those perpetrators shamefaced responsible for the same, latterly their separate felonious networks will get intruded. The work can open lookouts for multidisciplinary approaches, revise the study of crime, and the disquisition methodology, introducing new borders in a pursuit of justice, as well as environmental and ecological preservation. As wisdom advances and understanding the beast area grows, zoology in forensic wisdom has much lesser compass and will give a distinct tool for working crimes and guarding both mortal beings and wildlife.

Keywords

References (45)

  1. Douglas JE, Burgess AW, Burgess AG, Ressler RK. Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crime. John Wiley & Sons; 2013.
  2. Zhang H, Miller MP, Yang F, Chan HK, Gaubert P, Ades G. Molecular tracing of confiscated pangolin scales for conservation and illegal trade monitoring in Southeast Asia. Global Ecol Conserv. 2015;4:414–22.
  3. Overgaauw PA, Vinke CM, van Hagen MA, Lipman LJ. A one health perspective on the human–companion animal relationship with emphasis on zoonotic aspects. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(11):3789.
  4. Wright FD, Dailey JC. Human bite marks in forensic dentistry. Dent Clin North Am. 2001 Apr;45(2):365–97.
  5. Clark EJ, Chesnutt SR, Winer JN, Kass PH, Verstraete FJM. Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Pathology of the American Black Bear (Ursus americanus). Journal of Comparative Pathology. 2017;156(2-3):240-250. doi:10.1016/j.jcpa.2016.11.267
  6. Feola A, Marella GL, Carfora A, Della Pietra B, Zangani P, Campobasso CP. Snakebite Envenoming a Challenging Diagnosis for the Forensic Pathologist: A Systematic Review. Toxins. 2020;12(11):699. doi:10.3390/toxins12110699
  7. Ambade VN, Borkar JL, Meshram SK. Homicide by direct snake bite: a case of contract killing. Medicine, Science and the Law. 2011;52(1):40-43. doi:10.1258/msl.2011.011020
  8. Young A, Stillman R, Smith MJ, Korstjens AH. An Experimental Study of Vertebrate Scavenging Behavior in a Northwest European Woodland Context. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2014;59(5):1333-1342. doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12468
  9. Mizukami H, Hathway B, Procopio N. Aquatic Decomposition of Mammalian Corpses: A Forensic Proteomic Approach. Journal of Proteome Research. 2020;19(5):2122-2135. doi:10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00060
  10. Demirci S, Dogan KH. Death scene investigation from the viewpoint of forensic medicine expert. In: In Tech Open. 2011.
  11. Sterzik V, Holz F, Ohlwärther TEN, Thali M, Birngruber CG. Estimating the postmortem interval of human skeletal remains by analyzing their fluorescence at 365 and 490 nm. International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2017;132(3):933-938. doi:10.1007/s00414-017-1759-3
  12. Nijman V. An overview of international wildlife trade from Southeast Asia. Biodivers Conserv. 2010;19(4):1101–14.
  13. Wasser SK, Mailand C, Booth R, Mutayoba B, Kisamo E, Clark B, et al. Using DNA to track the origin of the largest ivory seizure since the 1989 trade ban. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2007;104(10):4228-4233. doi:10.1073/pnas.0609714104
  14. Hobson KA. Isotopic tracking of migrant wildlife. In: Stable Isot Ecology Environ Sci. 2008;155.
  15. Hobson KA, Lormée H, Wilgenburg SL, Wassenaar LI, Boutin JM. Stable isotopes (δD) delineate the origins and migratory connectivity of harvested animals: The case of European woodpigeons. J Appl Ecol. 2009;46:572–81.
  16. Blanc J. Loxodonta africana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ISSN 2307–8235 (online). 2008: e.T12392A3339343.
  17. Karmacharya D, Sherchan AM, Dulal S, Manandhar P, Manandhar S, Joshi J, et al. Species, sex and geo-location identification of seized tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) parts in Nepal—A molecular forensic approach. PLOS ONE. 2018;13(8):e0201639. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201639
  18. Gannes LZ, Del Rio CM, Koch P. Natural abundance variations in stable isotopes and their potential uses in animal physiological ecology. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 1998;119(3):725–37.
  19. Gouda S, Kerry RG, Das A, Chauhan NS. Wildlife forensics: A boon for species identification and conservation implications. Forensic Science International. 2020;317:110530. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110530
  20. Ogden R. Forensic science, genetics and wildlife biology: getting the right mix for a wildlife DNA forensics lab. Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. 2010;6(3):172-179. doi:10.1007/s12024-010-9178-5
  21. Higgins D, Austin JJ. Teeth as a source of DNA for forensic identification of human remains: A Review. Science & Justice. 2013;53(4):433-441. doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2013.06.001
  22. Linacre A, Tobe SS. An overview to the investigative approach to species testing in wildlife forensic science. Investigative Genetics. 2011;2(1):2. doi:10.1186/2041-2223-2-2
  23. Amendt J, Krettek R, Zehner R. Forensic entomology. Naturwissenschaften. 2004;91(2):51-65. doi:10.1007/s00114-003-0493-5
  24. Catts EP, Goff ML. Forensic Entomology in Criminal Investigations. Annual Review of Entomology. 1992;37(1):253-272. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.37.010192.001345
  25. Hore G, Maity A, Naskar A, Ansar W, Ghosh S, Saha GK, et al. Scanning electron microscopic studies on antenna of Hemipyrellia ligurriens (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)—A blow fly species of forensic importance. Acta Tropica. 2017;172:20-28. doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.04.005
  26. Root RB, Kareiva PM. The search for resources by cabbage butterflies (Pieris rapae): Ecological consequences and adaptive significance of Markovian movements in a patchy environment. Ecology. 1984;65(1):147–65.
  27. Anderson GS. Forensic entomology. In: Forensic Sci–An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques. xxxi, 2005;135–164.
  28. Amendt J, Campobasso CP, Gaudry E, Reiter C, LeBlanc HN, J. R. Hall M. Best practice in forensic entomology—standards and guidelines. International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2006;121(2):90-104. doi:10.1007/s00414-006-0086-x
  29. Greenberg B. Flies as Forensic Indicators. Journal of Medical Entomology. 1991;28(5):565-577. doi:10.1093/jmedent/28.5.565
  30. Rossmo DK. Geographic Profiling. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2000.
  31. Kim Rossmo D. Geographic Profiling in Serial Rape Investigations. Practical Aspects of Criminal & Forensic Investigations. 2008:139-169. doi:10.1201/9781420065053.ch9
  32. Lyman RL. Quantitative Paleozoology. 2008. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511813863
  33. Zeder MA. The Domestication of Animals. Journal of Anthropological Research. 2012;68(2):161-190. doi:10.3998/jar.0521004.0068.201
  34. Yeshurun R, Bar-Oz G, Nadel D. The social role of food in the Natufian cemetery of Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. J Anthropol Archaeol. 2013;32(4):511–26.
  35. Beaubien HF, Emery KF, Henderson J, Joyce R, Longstaffe FL, Masson MA, et al. Maya Zooarchaeology: New Directions in Method and Theory. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press; 2004. Available from: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/75h1s16p.
  36. Haber M, Mezzavilla M, Xue Y, Tyler-Smith C. Ancient DNA and the rewriting of human history: be sparing with Occam’s razor. Genome Biology. 2016;17(1). doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0866-z
  37. Pääbo S. The Human Condition—A Molecular Approach. Cell. 2014;157(1):216-226. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.12.036
  38. Shapiro B, Drummond AJ, Rambaut A, Wilson MC, Matheus PE, Sher AV, et al. Rise and Fall of the Beringian Steppe Bison. Science. 2004;306(5701):1561-1565. doi:10.1126/science.1101074
  39. Cooper A, Poinar HN. Ancient DNA: Do It Right or Not at All. Science. 2000;289(5482):1139-1139. doi:10.1126/science.289.5482.1139b
  40. Allentoft ME, Collins M, Harker D, Haile J, Oskam CL, Hale ML, et al. The half-life of DNA in bone: measuring decay kinetics in 158 dated fossils. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2012;279(1748):4724-4733. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.1745
  41. Outram AK, Stear NA, Bendrey R, Olsen S, Kasparov A, Zaibert V, et al. The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking. Science. 2009;323(5919):1332-1335. doi:10.1126/science.1168594
  42. Tollis M, Ferris E, Campbell MS, Harris VK, Rupp SM, Harrison TM, et al. Elephant Genomes Reveal Accelerated Evolution in Mechanisms Underlying Disease Defenses. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 2021;38(9):3606-3620. doi:10.1093/molbev/msab127
  43. Haile J, Froese DG, MacPhee RDE, Roberts RG, Arnold LJ, Reyes AV, et al. Ancient DNA reveals late survival of mammoth and horse in interior Alaska. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2009;106(52):22352-22357. doi:10.1073/pnas.0912510106
  44. Raff JA, Bolnick DA, Tackney J, O'Rourke DH. Ancient DNA perspectives on American colonization and population history. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2011;146(4):503-514. doi:10.1002/ajpa.21594
  45. Green RE, Krause J, Briggs AW, Maricic T, Stenzel U, Kircher M, et al. A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome. Science. 2010;328(5979):710-722. doi:10.1126/science.1188021