title: A preliminary report on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) recovered from forensic entomological studies conducted in different ecological habitats in Malaysia.
abstract: This study reported the ant species that were recovered from monkey carcasses in three different ecological habitats in Malaysia. The study was conducted from 9 May - 10 October 2007, 6 May - 6 August 2008 and 26 May - 14 July 2009 in forested area (Gombak, Selangor), coastal area (Tanjong Sepat, Selangor) and highland area (Bukit Cincin, Pahang), respectively. Monkey carcass was used as a model for human decomposition in this study. A total of 4 replicates were used in each of the study sites. Ants were observed to prey on eggs, larvae, pupae and newly emerged flies. This study found that ant species could be found at all stages of decomposition, indicating that ants were not a significant indicator for faunal succession. However, different species of ants were obtained from monkey carcasses placed in different ecological habitats. Cardiocondyla sp. was only found on carcasses placed in the coastal area; while Pheidole longipes, Hypoponera sp. and Pachycondyla sp. were solely found on carcasses placed in the highland area. On the other hand, Pheidologeton diversus and Paratrechina longicornis were found in several ecological habitats. These data suggests that specific ant species can act as geographic indicators for different ecological habitats in forensic entomology cases in Malaysia.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Medical Entomology Unit, WHO Collaborating Centre for Vectors, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Nazni
authors.affiliation: Medical Entomology Unit, WHO Collaborating Centre for Vectors, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hashim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, 40450 Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.affiliation: Medical Entomology Unit, WHO Collaborating Centre for Vectors, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Izzul
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sofian-Azirun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002102:Cadaver; D017753:Ecosystem; D004772:Entomology / Q000379:methods; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods; D000882:Haplorhini / Q000469:parasitology*; D008296:Malaysia; D058974:Phylogeography