Comparison of the diversity of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in two physiographic regions with different bioclimatic conditions and cutaneous leishmaniasis transmission

We tested the hypothesis that bioclimatic conditions affect the species richness, abundance, and diversity of sand flies in neighboring physiographic regions with endemic transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis. A sampling program was performed in southeastern Mexico in the High Plateau of Chiapas and the Eastern Mountains physiographic regions, between April 2009 and March 2011. CDC light traps were placed in five randomly selected houses, four CDC traps in four transects in the surrounding vegetation zones, and a modified Magoon trap baited with one protected person was installed at the periphery of the villages at each study site. A total of 12,349 sand flies were identified as species, of which 98.2% were collected in the Eastern Mountains and the rest in the High Plateau of Chiapas. The Eastern Mountains region recorded a significantly higher diversity (H’ = 2.04), with a species richness of 27 sand flies species and a higher evenness index (J´ = 0.62) compared to the High Plateau of Chiapas region (H’ = 1.02, S = 10, J´ = 0.31). Psychodopygus panamensis (Shannon) (Diptera: Psychodidae) and Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) ovallesi (Ortiz) were the most abundant species in the Eastern Mountains, whereas Lutzomyia (Tricholateralis) cruciata (Coquillett) was most abundant in the High Plateau of Chiapas. We conclude that the differences in species richness, diversity, and abundance of sand flies between these two physiographic regions are due to the bioclimatic effects that in the Eastern Mountains are favorable for the formation of microhabitats due to the warm-warm conditions and the humid-temperate conditions which act as limiting factors in the High Plateau of Chiapas region. In addition, changes in land use due to anthropogenic activities significantly affected the structure of sand fly communities in both regions.