Diversity of sarcosaprophagous Diptera (Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae) in organic and conventional mango plantations in the Brazilian semi-arid region

Abstract

Increase on intensive monocultures is an important threat to Caatinga biodiversity decrease. The use of chemical insecticides directly affects insect natural enemies of crops, but also non-target species. We aimed to test whether the diversity of sarcosaprophagous flies would be affected by agricultural management (conventional and organic). Adult dipterans were collected monthly, from July 2015 to January 2016, using a grid composed of 12 suspended traps distant 20 m from each other, baited with 150 g of sardine or bovine spleen, in each type of management. We first calculated α-diversity by Hill numbers, then evaluated the difference of diversity metrics by ANOVA. We also graphically visualise the species composition distribution by NMDS. We recorded a total of 4,651 specimens of 15 Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae species. Chrysomya spp. were the dominant species (93.7% of all blowflies). Sarcophagidae species were sampled in low abundance, but with exclusive presence of some species in each treatment (e.g. B laesoxipha stallengi and Ravinia belforti in organic management). Although there was no difference on sarcosaprophagous fly diversity between treatments, we demonstrate empirically that mango plantations in the Caatinga harbour diverse and abundant assemblages of sarcosaprophagous dipterans, whose richness of species is comparable to other ecosystems such as rainforests and urban areas. Our results expand the known geographical range for forensically relevant species by providing a checklist of sarcosaprophagous dipterans that can thrive in agroecosystems in the Caatinga and, potentially, colonize cadavers disposed in that type of environment.

Evaluation of Climate Change Impacts on the Global Distribution of the Calliphorid Fly Chrysomya albiceps Using GIS

“…On the other hand, C. albiceps has ecological importance, as it helps in recycling elements in ecosystems by decomposing dead bodies [15]. The adults are good and effective pollinators that provide a good fruit set and increase yield for mango agriculture [16,17]. C. albiceps-with a wide distribution range-has adapted to several climatological conditions, but like any other biological unit, it will face dramatic changes in its geographical distribution due to climate change [18][19][20].…”

First record of the Ravinia almeidai (Lopes, 1946) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae: Sarcophaginae) to the state of Bahia, Brazil

“…Currently, in Brazil, studies with sarcophagids are mostly centered on the north, south and southeast regions (Pape 1996;Carvalho et al 2002) and, for this reason, little is known about the fauna of other regions, especially the northeast region, except for the Pernambuco state (e.g. Oliveira & Vasconcelos 2010;Oliveira & Vasconcelos 2018;Barbosa et al 2017Barbosa et al , 2020Barbosa et al , 2021Carmo et al 2021;Cruz et al 2021), where knowledge is incipient and limited. The main factors that hinder the expansion of knowledge for the region are the taxonomic difficulties in recognizing these dipterans (since, for many species, only males are safely identified by the terminalia morphology), the lack of adequate literature and, above all, the acting of few taxonomists, which often prevents and discourages research with sarcophagids (Mello-Patiu et al 2014).…”