Keywords
labral fans
anal disk
water current
How to Cite
Abstract
Black fly larvae (Diptera: Simuliidae) are suspension filter-feeders which strongly depend on water velocity for proper feeding. Black fly species feature different microhabitat preferences. Studies of Holarctic black fly larvae revealed their phenotypic plasticity in response to water current velocity variation, but such studies have been rarely undertaken with Neotropical black flies. The current work presents results on the phenotypic plasticity of the black fly species Simulium nigrimanum Macquart. Twelve last instar larvae, sampled from the Brazilian Cerrado, were photographed under a stereoscopic microscope and measured using the CMEIAS Image tool software. Linear regressions with water velocity as the independent variable were performed, indicating that while body size and anal disk diameter correlated positively with water velocity, labral fan length correlated negatively. The observed relationships between water velocity and labral fan length and anal disk diameter were consistent with the literature, while the pattern of body size variation partially corroborated previous studies. The present work results suggest that potential phenotypic plasticity can be observed in black fly larvae within one population distributed in different microhabitats of the same stream section, as opposed to
previous reports implying that such variation is only found among population from different streams.
Currie DC, Adler PH. Global diversity of blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia, 595: 469–475, 2008.
doi: 10.1007/s10750-007-9114-1
Araújo-Coutinho CJPC, Nascimento ES, Figueiró R, Becnel JJ. Seasonality and prevalence rates of microsporidia in Simulium pertinax (Diptera: Simuliidae) larvae in the region of Serra dos Órgãos, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 85: 188–191, 2004.
doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2004.02.003
Nascimento ES, Figueiró R, Becnel, JJ, Araújo-Coutinho CJPC. Influence of temperature on microsporidia infections in a natural population of Simulium pertinax Kollar, 1832 (Diptera; Simuliidae). Brazilian Journal of Biology, 67: 519–526, 2007.
doi: 10.1590/S1519-69842007000300017
Figueiró R., Araújo-Coutinho CJPC., Gil-Azevedo LH, Nascimento ES, Monteiro RF. Spatial and temporal distribution of blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the Itatiaia National Park, Brazil. Neotropical Entomology, 35: 542–550, 2006.
doi: 10.1590/S1519-566X2006000400018
Figueiró R, Maia-Herzog M, Gil-Azevedo LH, Monteiro RF. Seasonal variation in black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) taxocenoses from the Brazilian Savannah (Tocantins, Brasil). Journal of Vector Ecology, 39: 321–327, 2014.
doi: 10.1111/jvec.12107
Docile TN, Figueiro R, Gil-Azevedo LH, Nessimian JL. Water pollution and distribution of the blackfly (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 63: 683–693, 2015.
doi: 10.15517/rbt.v63i3.16195
Ciborowski JJH, Craig DA, Fry KM. Dissolved organic matter as a food for black fly larvae (Diptera: Simuliidae). Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 16: 771–780, 1997.
doi: 10.2307/1468170
Malmqvist B, Adler PH, Kuusela K, Merritt RW, Wotton RS. Black flies in the boreal biome, key organisms in both terrestrial and aquatic environments: a review. Écoscience, 11: 187–200, 2004.
doi: 10.1080/11956860.2004.11682824
Figueiró R, Gil-Azevedo LH. The role of the Neotropical blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) as vectors of the onchocerciasis: a short overview of the ecology behind the disease. Oecologia Australis, 14: 745–755, 2010.
doi: 10.4257/oeco.2010.1403.10
Figueiró R, Nascimento ES, Gil-Azevedo LH, Maia-Herzog M, Monteiro RF. Local distribution of blackfly (Diptera: Simuliidae) larvae in two adjacent streams: the role of water current velocity in the diversity of blackfly larvae. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 52: 452–454, 2008.
doi: 10.1590/S0085-56262008000300020
Figueiró R, Gil-Azevedo LH, Maia-Herzog M, Monteiro RF. Diversity and microdistribution of black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) assemblages in the tropical savanna streams of the Brazilian cerrado. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 107: 362–369, 2012.
doi: 10.1590/S0074-02762012000300011
Levine JM, HilleRisLambers J. The importance of niches for the maintenance of species diversity. Nature, 25: 205–225, 2009.
doi: 10.1038/nature08251
Craig DA, Chance MM. Filter feeding in larvae of Simuliidae (Diptera: Culicomorpha): aspects of functional morphology and hydrodynamics. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 60: 712–724, 1982.
doi: 10.1139/z82-100
Chance MM, Craig DA. Hydrodynamics and behaviour of Simuliidae larvae (Diptera)Canadian Journal of Zoology, 64: 1295–1309, 1986.
doi: 10.1139/z86-193
Zhang Y, Malmqvist B. Relationships between labral fan morphology, body size and habitat in North Swedish blackfly larvae (Diptera: Simuliidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 59: 261–280, 1996.
doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.1996.tb01466.x
Zhang Y, Malmqvist B. Phenotypic plasticity in a suspension-feeding insect, Simulium lundstromi (Diptera: Simuliidae), in response to current velocity. Oikos, 78: 503–510, 1997.
doi: 10.2307/3545611
Figueiró R, Calvet A, Gil-Azevedo LH, Docile TN, Monteiro RF, Maia-Herzog M. Evidence of phenotypic plasticity of larvae of Simulium subpallidum Lutz in different streams from the Brazilian Cerrado. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 59: 30–33, 2015.
doi: 10.1016/j.rbe.2015.02.003
Eaton DP, Diaz LA, Hans-Filho G, Dos Santos V, Aoki V, Friedman H, Rivitti RA, Sampaio SAP, Gottlieb MS, Giudice GJ, Lopez A, Cupp EW. Comparison of black fly species (Diptera: Simuliidae) on an amerindian reservation with a high prevalence of fogo selvagem to neighboring disease free sites in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Journal of
Medical Entomology, 35: 120–131, 1998.
doi: 10.1093/jmedent/35.2.120
Vernal S, Pepinelli M, Casanova C, Goulart TM , Kima O, De Paula NA, Pinto MC, Sá-Nunes A, Roselino AM. Insights into the epidemiological link between biting flies and pemphigus foliaceus in southeastern Brazil. Acta Tropica, 176: 455–462, 2017.
doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.09.015
Coscarón S, Coscarón-Arias CL. Neotropical Simuliidae (Diptera: Insecta)/ Simuliidae Neotropicales (Diptera: Insecta). In: Adis, J., Arias, J. R., Rueda-Delgado, G., Wantzen, K.M. (eds.). Aquatic Biodiversity in Latin America/ Biodiversidad Acuática en América Latina. Vol. 3. Pensoft, Sofia. pp. 1–685, 2007.
Hamada N, Adler PH. Bionomia e chave para imaturos e adultos de Simulium (Diptera: Simuliidae) na Amazônia Central, Brasil. Acta Amazonica, 31: 109–132, 2001.
doi: 10.1590/1809-43922001311132
Liu X, Xu X, Li H. CMEIAS(r): A computer-aided system for the image analysis of bacterial morphotyphes in microbial communities. Microbial Ecology, 41: 173–194, 2001.
doi: 10.1007/s002480000004
Wilm HG, Storey HC. Velocity head-rod calibrated for measuring streamflow. Civil Engineer, 14: 475–476, 1944.
Lucas P, Hunter FF. Phenotypic plasticity in the labral fan of simuliid larvae (Diptera): effect of seston load on primary-ray number. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77: 1843–1849, 1999.
doi: 10.1139/cjz-77-12-1843
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2021 Universitas Scientiarum