GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) -- A species of "tiny detectives" could help researchers learn more about wildlife disease and biodiversity loss in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

University of Tennessee scientists researching blow flies can detect deadly pathogens before outbreaks happen, the park shared on Tuesday.

While the species is sometimes known for it's use in homicide investigations, a GSMNP release explained that the flies seek out animal remains and pick up genetic clues along the way, somewhat acting like they're swabbing a crime scene but with wings. The flies then carry along a snapshot of the local environment, including DNA, viruses and bacteria.

To attract the blow flies, researchers use rotting chicken livers, and then analyze the DNA in and on the flies to track wildlife disease and biodiversity loss. The method is quick, cost effective and doesn't disturb animals in the park.

Although the park has just recently shared how the flies are helping researchers, methods utilizing blow flies to understand what is happening in national parks has been done before. In 2021, Indianapolis University shared that a similar study was conducted by three researchers, including a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tennessee, who was a Ph. D. student at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

By collecting the flies, placing them in a high-temperature furnace and studying the stable isotopes left behind, the researchers found that blow flies in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Yellowstone National Park mainly fed on carnivores, despite the fact that there were greater numbers of herbivores. The researchers also discovered that the files in the Smokies also fed on corn-based foods, similar to flies that were tested in Indianapolis. The researchers suggested that because the GSMNP is the most visited national park in the country, opportunistic scavengers have more access to human food.

In addition to helping researchers, the National Park Service's website also notes that blow flies are great pollinators for fruit, including mangoes, and that some species can also be used to help burn victims. The NPS explained that sterile maggots from specific blow fly species can be placed on burn wounds to eat dead tissue as a wound heals while secreting antimicrobial proteins.