BackgroundEnvironmental changes caused by urbanization can cause alterations in the ecology and behavior of sandflies and in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis. Geotechnological tools allow the analysis and recognition of spatiotemporal patterns by monitoring and mapping risk areas of this vector-borne disease. This study aims to describe the sandfly fauna in the municipality of Corumbá and to compare it with the data described in a three-year period from 1984 to 1986 by Galati. A further aim was to analyze the influence of environmental changes on the composition of the fauna.MethodsCaptures were conducted weekly from April 2012 to March 2013, in intra and peridomicile areas with automatic light traps, from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. The following indices were calculated for both periods analyzed: Standardized Index of Species Abundance (SISA), Shannon’s diversity index (H) and Pielou’s index (J). The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was extracted from a remote sensing LANDSAT-5 image.ResultsIn total, 7,370 specimens (6,169 males and 1,201 females) were collected, distributed among 12 species. Lutzomyia cruzi was the most frequent species (93,79%) and the first in the ranking of standardized species abundance index in both studies. The dominance of the species Lu. cruzi in the neighborhoods of Maria Leite and Centro was demonstrated by the low equitability index. The neighborhood of Cristo Redentor had the greatest diversity of sandflies in the present study and the second greatest in the study performed by Galati et al. (Rev Saúde Pública 31:378–390, 1997). Analyzing the satellite images and the NDVI from 1984 and 2010, the largest amount of dense vegetation was found in the neighborhood of Cristo Redentor.ConclusionsIt was, therefore, possible to show how changes caused due to urbanization have affected the density and distribution of Lu. cruzi and other species over time. Moreover, the data suggest that different populations of sandflies adapt in different ways according to environmental conditions and the adaptation does not necessarily depends on the presence of high vegetation cover.

Aquatic macrophytes are important components of wetland ecosystems, and studying them contributes to a better understanding of ecological succession in the Pantanal. The function and history of floating macrophytes on the shores of Lake Uberaba, located on the Paraguay River floodplain, were examined. A multitemporal analysis of Landsat satellite images in the years 1984-2015 was conducted. For the analysis, a land cover map was generated with three classes: water, aquatic macrophytes, and surroundings (undefined vegetation). The results revealed ~21.4% decrease in open water area of the lake over a period of 26 years (-4.7 km2/yr.). The expansion of vegetation helps explain the loss of open water and the recent shrinkage of Lake Uberaba. Macrophyte surface area along the lake margins grew by 1.4 km2/yr. Through ecological succession, the growth and decay of aquatic plants (r-strategists) along the lake shore likely provided the soil substrate needed for colonization by terrestrial plant assemblages (k-strategists). This hypothesis that we propose to describe the evolution of dynamic geomorphological processes in Lake Uberaba should be tested in other areas to verify its applicability to similar systems

The state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil is an important region of South America regarding leishmaniasis, with the great diversity of sandflies reported since 1938 and wide biodiversity represented by its biomes (Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Pantanal). A checklist of sandflies is presented here for the state and respective biomes. The data base was compiled from primary and secondary data. The primary data collection involved automatic light traps at Miranda–Abobral Pantanal subregion and in subregion Baixa Nhecolância of Pantanal. The secondary data were obtained from entomology scientific collections and a literature review of articles from 1938 to 2019, including entomological museum collections. A total of 71 species were reported, belonging to 14 genera and 13 subgenera, in 61 municipalities of the state, including the type locality of 9 species, and the first report of Lutzomyia cruzi (Mangabeira 1938), vector of Leishmania infantum (Nicolle 1937), in the Pantanal region of Miranda–Abobral. Other vector species, Bichromomyia flaviscutellata (Mangabeira 1942), Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva 1912), Nyssomyia antunesi (Coutinho 1939), Nyssomyia intermedia (Lutz & Neiva 1912), Nyssomyia neivai (Pinto 1926), and Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho 1939), are reported in the entire area of the state. Maps containing the distribution of sandflies on Mato Grosso do Sul biomes were produced. The eclecticism of the species in relation to their ecotypes was observed, with several species using the three biome types as habitats and breeding sites.

Phlebotomines have been recorded from a wide variety of habitats, and some of these vector species have shown preference for human environments, with high levels of adaptation. This study evaluated the degree of preference of these vectors for urban, rural, and forested environments (synanthropic behavior), as well as the diversity of these species, in three areas (forested, rural, and urban, exhibiting different degrees of anthropogenic changes) in a region of intense transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in Corumbá county, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Using light traps, sand fly specimens were collected from the three environments simultaneously, from May 2015 to April 2017, totaling 7 213 sand flies of 14 species in eight genera. Nuorteva’s synanthropy index was determined for the species Lutzomyia cruzi , Brumptomyia brumpti , Micropygomyia peresi , Lu . forattinii , Martinsmyia oliveirai and Evandromyia corumbaensis . Lutzomyia cruzi , the vector of Leishmania infantum in Corumbá, was the most abundant vector species, recorded from all three areas and sampling plots, on all 24 months investigated. This species exhibited the highest synanthropic index (+75.09), indicating a strong preference for urban environments. Brumptomyia brumpti , Micropygomyia peresi , Lu . forattinii , and Martinsmyia oliveirai showed preference, albeit not strong, for urban environments. Overall, males were more abundant than females ( W = 490; p < 0.0001). High density, high synanthropic index, and sustained indoor presence were found for Mi . peresi in the rural area. Monitoring changes in the ecological behavior of sand flies is of vital importance, as these changes may indicate an increased likelihood of leishmaniasis emergence or reemergence.

A preservação dos recursos naturais é imprescindível para o equilíbrio dos sistemas ambientais. A água é um recurso natural indispensável à vida. Visando a implementação da gestão ambiental deste recurso, surgiu a Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos que está baseada em alguns princípios, como a adoção da Bacia Hidrográfica como unidade de planejamento. O uso de geotecnologias constitui uma importante ferramenta para ação de trabalho, pois permite avaliar a área a ser estudada, visualizar a situação da cobertura vegetal e do solo, além de anexá-los aos bancos de dados georreferenciados. O objetivo deste trabalho consiste na análise ambiental da bacia hidrográfica do Rio Olho D´água, localizado no Município de Jardim, Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul. Para a delimitação desta bacia foram utilizados dados SRTM e com a finalidade de avaliar a qualidade da cobertura vegetal desta área o NDVI foi calculado com base em cena do sensor Landstat TM. Posteriormente, analisaram-se as classes de Área de Preservação Permanente existentes nessa área de estudo. Os resultados aqui encontrados foram que o estado de conservação da APP encontra-se em conformidade com a legislação ambiental, cumprindo o seu papel na manutenção da biodiversidade e da qualidade dos recursos hídricos. O uso de geotecnologias permitiu integrar vários níveis de informação, gerando mapas, caracterizando o ambiente e produzindo informação que auxilia no planejamento e gestão da Fazenda Cabeceira do Prata.