Necrophagous flies assemblages: Spatio-temporal patterns in a Neotropical urban environment

BATTÁN-HORENSTEIN, M; GLEISER R

CALDASIA

INST CIENCIAS NATURALES

Lugar: Bogota; Año: 2018

0366-5232

Species composition, richness, and relativeabundance of the communities of Calliphoridae, Muscidae, and Fanniidae inCórdoba city, Argentina was assessed, and how these characteristics areaffected by seasonal and anthropogenic conditions was studied. The study wascarried out in thirteen sites with various levels of urbanization during 2014and 2015, comparing two seasons: the warmer-wet summer and the cold-dry winter.Adult flies were collectedin each site using two traps baited with hydrated bone meal. A total of1683 flies were collected, belonging to 12 genera and 22 species. Several ofthe species collected are relevant to forensic sciences. The most frequentspecies were Hydrotaea aenescens (Muscidae)and Fannia fusconotata (Fanniidae). No differences in necrophagous flyrichness or relative abundances between the central urban sites and theperiphery suburban sites were observed; however, richness was significantlycorrelated with local (250 m buffer area) built-up density. Species compositiondiffered between the urban and suburban sites. Seasonaldifferences were also detected: the relative abundances per species were moreeven in the summer. Dissimilarities in the assemblages were mainly due todifferences in the relative abundances of some species, reflecting theiradaptability to landscapes with different degree of urbanization. Regardless ofseason or urbanization density, species richness and effective number ofspecies were higher in traps placed in the sun as opposed to shade. Takentogether, these results suggest that in Córdoba city both landscape and localfactors explain variations in the necrophagous fly community.