Abstract

One of the most important estimations in forensic studies of marine criminal evidence is the postmortem interval (PMI). Here we analyzed the time estimation relevance using biofouling process. To this end, four different material panels (pvc, SUS, wood, and cloth), all in the same size 10 × 10 cm2, were immersed in sea area at a depth of 1.5 m. Fouling patterns of the mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis were investigated every month and the new panels were immersed. Based on ASTM methods, the fouling mussels were measured for shell length and populations. As a result, we found that there was a significant difference in the density and growth of the mussels depending on the dumping time (F = 56.609, p = .000). Therefore, these findings can be feasible for use in marine scientific investigations such as PMI, finding criminal, and crime details.