ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the environmental factors that may influence organismal colonization of a corpse as well as the decomposition process involving different stages of carrion decomposition in aquatic environments. It aims to characterize the aquatic faunal community involved in decomposition and discusses their functional roles relevant to their importance in forensic science investigations. The chapter also discusses several case histories involving aquatic insects and other organisms. Physical-chemical parameters of water, such as temperature, oxygen content, and those associated with the corpse itself, not only play a part in decomposition of human corpses, but also influence the dominant pathway of decomposition. The chapter focuses on freshwater habitats and to a lesser extent, marine environments. It explores the great discrepancy between the number of forensic studies published dealing with terrestrial insects and those dealing with aquatic insects. The chapter reviews the literature and presented the stages of decomposition for different types of carrion in freshwater environments and the associated aquatic insect fauna.
