A preliminary investigation of rabbit carcass decomposition and attracted ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the seaward coastal beach of Al-Jubail City, Saudi Arabia

The current study was carried out in the seaward coastal beach environment of Al-Jubail City, Saudi Arabia, to analyze the rabbit carcass decomposition process, the succession pattern of associated ants, and their potential utility in forensic investigation. Experiments were conducted over a 4-season course (from autumn 2018 to summer 2019). A total of 9 species belonging to the 2 subfamilies, Myrmicinae and Formicinae, were recorded. The myrmicine species were Crematogaster aegyptiacaMayr, 1862; Messor ebeninusSantschi, 1927; Messor foreliSantschi, 1923; and Monomorium abeilleiAndre, 1881. The formicine species were Camponotus xerxesForel, 1904; Cataglyphis albicans(Roger, 1859); Cataglyphis hologerseniCollingwood & Agosti, 1996; Cataglyphis viaticoides(André, 1881); and Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi(Mayr, 1904). M. abeilleiwas the only species recorded in all 4 seasons, while M. abeilleiand C. albicanswere the dominant species in summer and C. aegyptiacaand C. albicansin spring. Diversity was lowest in the autumn, with only 4 species recorded. The COIgene sequences of 5 species have been successfully deposited in the GenBank database for the first time. In total, 4 carcass decomposition stages were observed, with the longest duration in winter (13 days), the shortest in summer (11 days), and in between for both autumn and spring. Most ant species were present during both decay and dry stages, while M. abeillei, C. aegyptiaca, M. ebeninus, and C. albicanswere observed in all decomposition stages. These data may indicate that ants on this coastal beach showed seasonal and geographical succession patterns that could be taken into consideration in forensic investigations.