Species co-occurrence and feeding behavior in sand fly transmission of American cutaneous leishmaniasis in western Venezuela

The structure of the Phlebotomine sand fly community from the Venezuelan Andes was studied using null-model tests. The analyses, at the living zones and altitudes scales, revealed C-scores larger than those expected by random, independently of the collection technique ( P < 0.05). These results i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta tropica 2004-11, Vol.92 (3), p.219-224
Main Authors: Chaves, Luis Fernando, Añez, Nestor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
C-score
Diptera
Environment
Feeding Behavior
Feeding preferences
General aspects
Human protozoal diseases
Infectious diseases
Insect Vectors - physiology
Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - transmission
Leshmaniasis
Medical sciences
Null-model tests
Parasitic diseases
Phlebotominae
Phlebotomine sand flies
Population Dynamics
Protozoal diseases
Psychodidae
Psychodidae - physiology
Species Specificity
Venezuela
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Summary:The structure of the Phlebotomine sand fly community from the Venezuelan Andes was studied using null-model tests. The analyses, at the living zones and altitudes scales, revealed C-scores larger than those expected by random, independently of the collection technique ( P < 0.05). These results imply that sand fly species are non-aggregated at both scales. Random results for the variance of C-score and for the favored states hypothesis suggest that sand fly species belong to an unique guild. The latter is reinforced by the fact that anthropophilic and zoophilic species use in the same way a common resource (blood). Finally, we suggest additional approaches to study the role of the sand fly community structure on the genesis and dynamics of transmission of American cutaneous leishmaniasis.
ISSN:0001-706X
1873-6254
DOI:10.1016/j.actatropica.2004.08.001