Ecology of sand flies near São Manoel hydroelectric plant, southern Brazilian Amazon, including a new species of Trichophoromyia (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

Abstract

A sand fly survey was carried out as part of the environmental risk assessment surrounding the construction of a hydroelectric power plant at the Teles Pires River, at the boundary between the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Pará. In order to evaluate the diversity and similarity of the sand fly communities in sylvatic forest and domestic environments, sand flies were collected every three months for two years (January 2015 to July 2017). A total of 1,682 sand flies distributed in 14 genera and 59 species were collected. In the forest, 1,364 individuals distributed in 14 genera and 54 species were collected; the most abundant species were Psychodopygus davisi (Root, 1934) (16%) followed by Trichophoromyia sp. (12%) and Nyssomyia antunesi (Coutinho, 1939) (9%). In domestic environments, 318 individuals were collected from 10 genera and 29 species, with Evandromyia termitophila (Martins, Falcão & Silva, 1964) (37%) being the most abundant species, followed by Nyssomyia delsionatali Galati & Galvis, 2012 (8%) and Evandromyia walkeri (Newstead, 1914) (8%). Non-metric multidimensional scaling and non-parametric permutational multivariate analysis of variance of sand fly relative abundance and species occurrence indicated significant differences in the sand fly fauna between sylvatic forest and human-associated environments. New state-level occurrence records for eight species are also reported and Trichophoromyia dilermandoi sp. nov. is described. This new species can be distinguished from similar species by the rectangular shape of the paramere, the presence of 10–12 setae in the gonocoxite and the aedeagal ducts/sperm pump ratio of 5.7.