Bioecological Study on the Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in Sari County, North of Iran

• Published in: Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 159 - 173
• Main Authors: Hosseini-Vasoukolaei, Nasibeh, Ghavibazou, Leila, Akhavan, Amir Ahmad, Enayati, Ahmad Ali, Jahanifard, Elham, Fazeli-Dinan, Mahmoud, Yazdani-Charati, Jamshid, Nikookar, Seyed Hasan, Saeidi, Zahra, Shemshadian, Atieh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran Tehran University of Medical Sciences 01-06-2022
• Subjects: Abdomen; Biodiversity; Ecology; Geographic information systems; Global positioning systems; GPS; Morphology; Northern Iran; Original; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Physiology; Sand Fly; Tropical diseases; Iran; Ecology; Sand fly; Biodiversity; Northern Iran
• ISSN: 2322-1984; 1735-7179; 2322-2271
• DOI: 10.18502/jad.v16i2.11806

Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of
species, the causative agents of leishmaniasis in the world. Present study aimed to evaluate the bioecological aspects of sand flies in different ecotopes in Sari County, north of Iran.
Sand flies were collected from four villages in mountainous, forest, plain and peri-urban areas monthly using sticky traps in May-October 2016. Mounted specimens were identified using valid identification keys under optical microscope. The Arc GIS 10.5 software was applied for showing the distribution of sand flies. Shannon-Weiner, Simpson and Evenness species diversity indices were calculated.
Generally, 334 specimens were captured and identified, namelly
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
and
. The most common species was
(n= 128, 38.32 %). The highest Simpson index (0.81) and abundance (N= 141) were recorded in the mountaineous area. Shannon diversity index was higher in the forest (H'= 1.53) and the highest evenness index was in the plain area (J'= 0.93). The highest richness (S= 9) and Shannon indices (H'= 1.57) were observed in June.
,
,
,
,
,
and
were recorded for the first time in the study area. Since some species are incriminated for leishmaniasis transmission, further studies are required in the northern regions of Iran to timely control measures planning.