LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course will provide the students with the general knowledge about forensic botany and mycology and their application in crime investigation and in the answering to other legal issues. Case studies, where botanic and mycological evidence have been used, will be presented. Collection and identification methods of specimens of forensic interest will also be presented.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course will provide the students with the general knowledge about forensic botany and mycology and their application in crime investigation and in the answering to other legal issues. Case studies, where botanic and mycological evidence have been used, will be presented. Collection and identification methods of specimens of forensic interest will also be presented.

At the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate:

a) A general knowledge of the principles of forensic botany and mycology;

b) A general understanding of the role of plants as sources of toxic and psychoactive substances and in contamination and frauds of food and medications;

c) A general understanding of the role of fungi in cadaver decomposition processes and their role as environmental contaminants;

d) A general understanding of the use of plants and fungi (eg.: plant fragments in the gut content, roots in burial sites, hyphae, etc.) in PMI (post mortem interval).

At the end of lessons, students will be able to:

a) Select the best sampling methods for botanic evidence depending on the different forensic scenarios;

b) Indicate sampling methodologies of fungal organisms with emphasis on tanatochronology, putrefactive processes and contamination of objects and environments.

TEACHING METHODS

The module is based on lectures, laboratory activities and work group. Attendance to lectures and practical group activities is not mandatory, but strongly recommended. Lectures are delivered with multimedia supports.

Lectures and laboratory activities will be delivered in presence.  All in-presence activities will be delivered according to the University and national rules related with the COVID-19 emergency.
Students are invited to check regularly the module website (AulaWeb ) to be updated on any teaching variation.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is built up of two components: Forensic Botany and Forensic Mycology

Forensic Botany: A brief historical introduction. Application in crime investigation and legal disputes. Botanical traces useful in the forensic context: methods, techniques and case studies. Application in investigations on toxic and psychoactive plants, and on food and herbal medicine frauds. Real cases will be illustrated.

Forensic mycology: definition and main fields of application. Fungi and thanotochronology: Real cases will be illustrated. Fungi involved in decomposition, biodeterioration and biodegradation, with examples of monitoring and sampling.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

All the slides used during the lectures and other teaching material (texts and selected scientific papers) will be available on Aulaweb as .pdf files. 
Suggested books are available in the library or for consultation

Recommended books (available in the library or upon request to the teacher):

-Forensic Botany - Practical Guide. D.W. Hall & J.H. Byrd eds. WILEY-Blackwell, 2012
-Forensic Botany. Principles and Applications to Criminal Casework. Edited by Heather Miller Coyle. CRC Press 2005.
-Essential Forensic Biology. Gunn A. , 3rd edition, Willey, 2019.