Sand fly fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae) from the Goytacazes National Forest and surrounding areas of southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Most studies of the sand fly fauna in southeastern Brazil are conducted in the peridomiciliary environment of leishmaniasis endemic regions. Therefore, to increase the knowledge about diversity and richness of sand fly conservation areas, we describe here the sand fly fauna from the National Forest of Goytacazes (NFG), state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, and its surroundings areas. We also used sand fly fauna records from eight conservations units within the state of Espírito Santo to understand the similarity and relationships among them. The sand flies were simultaneously collected from June, 2008 to May, 2009 in two different environments: a preserved environment represented by the NFG and a modified environment represented by a peridomicile. To establish the similarity among the conservation units, we used a method very similar to parsimony analysis of endemism. We collected 2,466 sand fly specimens belonging to 13 species. Pressatia choti and Nyssomyia intermedia were the most abundant sand fly species. Ny. intermedia is a known vector of Leishmania braziliensis and epidemiological surveillance must be conducted in the area. We discuss aspects regarding the diversity of sand flies as well as the risk of transmission of Leishmania parasites in the area. We also provide for the first time a hypothesis of similarity relationships among conservation units within the state of Espírito Santo. Journal of Vector Ecology 40 (1): 28-35. 2015.

DNA Barcoding of Neotropical Sand Flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae): Species Identification and Discovery within Brazil

“…This method of morphology-based identification is limited by the inability to recognize different species that may be components of a cryptic series complex, that is, subpopulations in the early stages of speciation that have not yet evolved morphological differences. For example, the morphology of females from closely related species of sand flies belonging to Brumptomyia , Evandromyia Mangabeira, Pressatia Mangabeira, and Trichophoromyia Barretto are too similar to allow species discrimination based on morphological characteristics [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Additionally, morphology-based identifications may lead to the inappropriate grouping of subpopulations into different species because of phenotypic variation.…”

Seroepidemiological survey of canine visceral leishmaniasis in a continental island of northeast Brazil

“…Pressatia choti is commonly identified among the most prevalent phlebotomine species in leishmaniasis endemic areas with dense vegetation. This was observed in forest areas in Pernambuco State (ANDRADE et al, 2005;BRANDÃO-FILHO et al, 1988), Atlantic forest reserves in Espírito Santo (VIRGENS et al, 2015), and Minas Gerais (SOUZA et al, 2015), or in areas of the Amazon region in Acre State (ARAUJO-PEREIRA et al, 2014). Some authors suggest that there is indirect evidence for P. choti as a Leishmania spp.…”

Fauna of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Goytacazes National Forest and surrounding area, State of Espírito Santo, Southeastern Brazil

“…The environmental degradation suffered by this biome has caused changes in the natural landscape, with consequent alteration of the fauna and population dynamics of different living organisms, including insects such as mosquitoes and sandflies (Virgens et al 2008(Virgens et al , 2015.…”