Forensic science and animal food habits

Forensic botany—the use of botanical evidence in courts of law—has proven to be useful in both civil and criminal cases. Evidence obtained from plants—including structural information—has gained wide acceptance as either direct or indirect evidence. The careful microanalysis of plant cells, tissues, or organ fragments at both the light-microscope and scanning-electron-microscope levels can provide compelling evidentiary arguments for resolving a variety of legal questions. Food plants also provide a source of forensic evidence. A record of what the victim ate just before death can be obtained by identifying the plant cells that are present in stomach contents. In some cases, the exact restaurant that served the last meal can also be located. The histological features of wood or wood fragments enable wood to be readily identified by family and genus. Obtaining diet and nutritional information on the domestic and wild herbivores represents a significant major application of plant anatomical research. Detailed food habit data and preferences are important because they relate to animal population size and fluctuation, range, and other complex interrelationships. Histological analysis of the herbivore diet has the advantage that materials can be microscopically examined at any stage of digestion, both recently consumed and as fine particles obtained from stomach contents and fecal droppings.