Diversity of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Caatinga Biome, Brazil, from the Widespread to the Endemic
David Campos Andrade,
Sirlei Antunes Morais,
Letícia Silva Marteis,
Renata Antonaci Gama,
Renato Cesar de Melo Freire,
Belgrano Santiago Rekowski,
Helene Mariko Ueno,
Roseli La Corte
Affiliations
David Campos Andrade
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão 49100-000, SE, Brazil
Sirlei Antunes Morais
Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Avenida Marechal Rondon, S/N, São Cristóvão 49100-000, SE, Brazil
Letícia Silva Marteis
Colegiado de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Av. José de Sá Maniçoba, S/N, Centro, Petrolina 56304-917, PE, Brazil
Renata Antonaci Gama
Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Avenida Senador Salgado Filho 3000, Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Renato Cesar de Melo Freire
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Parasitária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Belgrano Santiago Rekowski
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão 49100-000, SE, Brazil
Helene Mariko Ueno
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sustentabilidade—Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades da Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Arlindo Béttio, 1000, São Paulo 03828-000, SP, Brazil
Roseli La Corte
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão 49100-000, SE, Brazil
Mosquito fauna in the northeast semiarid region of Brazil, Caatinga biome, are poorly known. Studies on the diversity are scarce and the few surveys available focus on local fauna. In order to understand the ecological pattern of mosquito’s distribution, information available from studies from 2008 to 2015 were gathered. A partitioning framework of the beta diversity, the turnover (βJTU) and nestedness (βJNE) components were used to determine dissimilarity among communities. Eighty-two morphospecies were recorded and 47 of the species were not shared between the areas. The most representative genera were Aedes, Anopheles, Psorophora, Haemagogus, Coquillettidia, and Mansonia, which all include species of medical interest. The communities had high rates of variation, and the mechanism of turnover accounted for the observed diversity pattern. Despite differences in collection methods, the observed dissimilarity may be related to the broad environmental heterogeneity of the biome, the intrinsic relationships of the species with their habitats, and the environmental degradation caused by different types of anthropogenic interference. Considering the mosquito species richness and endemicity, the hypothesis that the Caatinga harbor poor biodiversity is rejected. The spatial variation observed is of particular importance and should be taken into account for the knowledge of Caatinga biodiversity.
