Evaluation of environmental and local factors on urban sarcosaprophagous Diptera: a case study with Sarcophagidae

BATTÁN HORENSTEIN, M.; MULIERI, P. R.; GLEISER, R. M.

MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2021

0269-283X

Abstract. The urbanization process affects the structure of insect communities,favouring biotic homogenization processes by promoting adequate conditions for theestablishment of synanthropic species. Considering the scarce knowledge about theecology of Neotropical sarcophagids, we compared the flesh fly community from twodifferent urban zones in two contrasting seasons and examined the response of theSarcophagidae assemblage to landscape and microhabitat variables. Adult flies werecollected in 13 sites with two traps (total number of traps 26) baited with 200 g ofhydrated bone meal. A total of 2312 adult sarcophagids were collected belongingto 27 species; Oxysarcodexia paulistanensis (Mattos, 1919) represented >48% of thetotal sample. The local factor of insolation explained both the abundance and speciesrichness of sarcophagids, collections being higher and richer in traps exposed to sunlightcompared with traps placed in the shade regardless of the season. Richness was alsoaffected by the environment, being higher in traps exposed in suburban rather than urbansites. The combination of these factors (sub-urban environment and availability of openareas) could explain the Sarcophagidae assemblage. The average number of sarcophagidspecies collected was related to the season, providing a good opportunity to assess thetemporal variability of this family in the region.