Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae): Fauna and Ecology in the Northeast of Algeria

Abstract

Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) transmit several Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) species, which cause leishmaniasis, a significant public health concern in Algeria. We compared sand fly species abundance and composition among different biotopes (urban, peri-urban, rural areas), bioclimatic zones (humid, sub-humid, semi-arid), and elevation ranges. We also used the additive partitioning of beta diversity to test whether the variation in sand fly composition among biotopes, bioclimatic zones, and elevation ranges is due to species turnover or community subsetting. In total, 7,478 specimens were captured; of which, 7,162 (51.5% males vs. 48.5% females) belong to eight species: Phlebotomus perniciosus Newstead, 1911 (77.4% of the total captured specimens), Phlebotomus perfiliewi Parrot, 1930 (14.6%), Phlebotomus longicuspis Nitzulescu, 1911 (5.9%), Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli, 1786 (<1%), Phlebotomus sergenti Parrot, 1917 (<1%) and Phlebotomus chadlii Rioux, Juminer et Gibily 1966 (<1%), Sergentomyia minuta Adler et Theodor, 1927 (1%), and Sergentomyia fallax Parrot, 1921 (<1%). Sand fly total abundance showed negative correlations with altitude and was significantly higher in rural areas. Sandfly community composition was significantly different between rural and urban/peri-urban areas. The additive partitioning of beta diversity showed that 71.4% of the compositional dissimilarity among elevation ranges and bioclimates was due to sand fly species turnover, and 28.6% resulted from nestedness. However, the variation in sand fly composition among different biotopes was mainly due to community nestedness. Findings from this study help define the risk of Leishmania transmission and develop methods for vector control in Mila province and Algeria as a whole.

Keywords: Mila Province; Phlebotomus; Sand flies; ecology; leishmaniasis.