Population Fluctuation, Influence of Abiotic Factors and the Height of Traps on the Abundance and Richness of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae

Rafael T Luz; Wellington T A Azevedo; Alexandre S Silva; Cláudia S S Lessa; Valéria C Maia; Valeria M Aguiar

doi:10.1093/jme/tjaa092

Population Fluctuation, Influence of Abiotic Factors and the Height of Traps on the Abundance and Richness of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae

J Med Entomol. 2020 Nov 13;57(6):1748-1757. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa092.

Authors

Rafael T Luz¹, Wellington T A Azevedo², Alexandre S Silva³, Cláudia S S Lessa⁴, Valéria C Maia¹, Valeria M Aguiar⁴

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
² Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
³ Departamento de Matemática Estatística, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁴ Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

PMID: 32516389
DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa092

Abstract

Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae are relevant to environmental conservation, public health, and forensic entomology. Researches regarding the flight behavior and the influence of abiotic factors on these insects may assist the application of entomology sciences. This study aimed to analyze the population fluctuation of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae, verifying the influence of environmental factors, trap height, and the anthropic effect in the Itaipu-Piratininga lagoon complex, Niterói (RJ). The collections were carried out monthly from September 2015 to August 2016, with fish bait (sardines) exposed for 48 h, totaling six traps, installed in three physiognomies (mangrove, ombrophilous forest, and restinga) at 1.5 and 2.5 m from the ground. Nine thousand seven hundred seventy-three individuals were captured, comprising two families, five genera and 11 species. Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) was the predominant species and Mesembrinella bellardiana (Aldrich, 1922) (Diptera: Mesembrinellidae) the least representative, indicating the low preservation level of this ecosystem. There was a weak, positive correlation between abundance of Chloroprocta idioidea (Robineau Desvoidy, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Ch. megacephala, Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann, 1818) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), and Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) with the temperature, as well as between the abundance of C. idioidea and Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) with precipitation; however, there was no correlation between abundance and relative humidity. No significant influence of the trap height was observed. We stated a high influence of anthropic effects on the restinga and mangrove physiognomies, while the forest physiognomy still retains its preserved characteristics, with the dominance of forestall species.

Keywords: anthropic effect; faunistic indexes; mangrove; ombrophilous forest; restinga.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Biota*
Brazil
Calliphoridae
Diptera / physiology*
Forensic Entomology
Forests*
Population Dynamics
Seasons
Wetlands*