Simuliid larvae are common inhabitants of mountain rivers throughout the world, where they can se... more Simuliid larvae are common inhabitants of mountain rivers throughout the world, where they can serve as ecological indicators. Black flies were sampled during three seasons in four rivers in the upper basin of the Bogotá River in the Colombian Andes, and physical, chemical, and hydrological data were recorded. Multivariate methods were used to determine the relationships between the presence and abundance of simuliid species and environmental characteristics. Fourteen species were found: eight in the genus Gigantodax (Enderlein, Diptera, Simuliidae) and six in the genus Simulium (Latreille, Diptera, Simuliidae). Dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, redox potential, chemical oxygen demand, and nutrients contributed to an explanation of species distributions. Species in clean waters and in more polluted waters had narrow niches; those in low to moderately polluted waters had broader niches. Species in the lower reaches of the watercourses had greater turnover, perhaps because the most ...
Black flies are abundant benthic organisms in well-oxygenated running water and are considered ef... more Black flies are abundant benthic organisms in well-oxygenated running water and are considered effective bioindicators of water quality. Information on the ecology of these organisms at the species level is important, since up to now information has mainly been available on a family level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the composition of black flies and their relationships to a group of physical and chemical factors in four small rivers of the Eastern Hills around Bogotá, Colombia. These headwaters are protected by the Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogotá. Black fly larvae and pupae were collected during four sampling periods during the dry season to the early rainy season of 2012. Multivariate methods were used to determine the presence of each species in relation to dissolved oxygen, nitrates, pH, temperature, and water velocity. PCA ordination revealed a physicochemical environment with a tendency towards a certain homogeneity in the fourrivers studied. The DCA...
Blood clotting at wound sites is critical for preventing blood loss and invasion by microorganism... more Blood clotting at wound sites is critical for preventing blood loss and invasion by microorganisms in multicellular animals, especially small insects vulnerable to dehydration. The mechanistic reaction of the clot is the first step in providing scaffolding for the formation of new epithelial and cuticular tissue. The clot, therefore, requires special materials properties. We have developed and used nano-rheological magnetic rotational spectroscopy with nanorods to quantitatively study nucleation of cell aggregates that occurs within fractions of a second. Using larvae of Manduca sexta, we discovered that clot nucleation is a two-step process whereby cell aggregation is the time-limiting step followed by rigidification of the aggregate. Clot nucleation and transformation of viscous blood into a visco-elastic aggregate happens in a few minutes, which is hundreds of times faster than wound plugging and scab formation. This discovery sets a time scale for insect clotting phenomena, esta...
Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch o... more Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch of cloud forest at 1,600 meters above sea level at Zurquí de Moravia, San José Province, Costa Rica (hereafter referred to as Zurquí), revealed an astounding 4,332 species. This amounts to more than half the number of named species of flies for all of Central America. Specimens were collected with two Malaise traps running continuously and with a wide array of supplementary collecting methods for three days of each month. All morphospecies from all 73 families recorded were fully curated by technicians before submission to an international team of 59 taxonomic experts for identification. Overall, a Malaise trap on the forest edge captured 1,988 species or 51% of all collected dipteran taxa (other than of Phoridae, subsampled only from this and one other Malaise trap). A Malaise trap in the forest sampled 906 species. Of other sampling methods, the combination of four other Malaise ...
Molecular studies have suggested that the true diversity of Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemospor... more Molecular studies have suggested that the true diversity of Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemospororida) species well exceeds the approximately 35 currently described taxa. Further, the degree of host-specificity may vary substantially among lineages. Parasite distribution can be influenced by the ability of the parasite to infect a host, vector preferences for certain avian hosts, or other factors such as microhabitat requirements that increase the probability that vertebrate hosts and vectors are in frequent contact with each other. Whereas most studies of haemosporidians have focused on passerine hosts, sampling vectors in the same habitats may allow the detection of other lineages affecting other hosts. We sampled abundant, ornithophilic black flies (Simuliidae) across a variety of sites and habitats in the Colorado Rocky Mountains throughout the summer of 2007. Black flies were screened with PCR using Leucocytozoon-specific primers that amplify a portion of the cytochrome b gene...
Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 1999
In response to increasing pest populations of black flies, the government of Argentina initiated ... more In response to increasing pest populations of black flies, the government of Argentina initiated a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of larval control in the irrigation system of the Negro River Valley, an 18,240-km2 area in Patagonia. The extensive system of irrigation canals, drainage ditches, and natural waterways not only provides water for agriculture and general habitation but also affords habitat for immature black flies. Three species (Simulium bonaerense, Simulium wolffhuegeli, and Simulium nigristrigatum) are primary pests of humans and animals in this area. Trials were conducted using Vectobac AS in representative irrigation canals, a drainage ditch, and a medium-sized river. Most trials resulted in effective larval mortality and insecticide carry. Based on a comparison with 11 black fly suppression programs throughout the world, a suppression program for the Negro River Valley has a projected cost of approximately $1,623,360/year. This study represents the init...
The polytene chromosomes are mapped for a scarce Himalayan simuliid, Simulium (Montisimulium) gho... more The polytene chromosomes are mapped for a scarce Himalayan simuliid, Simulium (Montisimulium) ghoomense Datta, from the Darjeeling area of India. This species has three tightly paired polytene chromosomes with a haploid number of 3. Chromosomes I, II, and III account for 39.6%, 30.3%, and 30.1% of the total complement length, respectively. The centromeres of chromosomes II and III consistently form a putative partial chromocenter. Sex chromosomes are undifferentiated and polymorphisms and sibling species are lacking in a sample of 35 larvae. This is the first chromosomal map for a species in the subgenus Montisimulium in India.
Simuliid larvae are common inhabitants of mountain rivers throughout the world, where they can se... more Simuliid larvae are common inhabitants of mountain rivers throughout the world, where they can serve as ecological indicators. Black flies were sampled during three seasons in four rivers in the upper basin of the Bogotá River in the Colombian Andes, and physical, chemical, and hydrological data were recorded. Multivariate methods were used to determine the relationships between the presence and abundance of simuliid species and environmental characteristics. Fourteen species were found: eight in the genus Gigantodax (Enderlein, Diptera, Simuliidae) and six in the genus Simulium (Latreille, Diptera, Simuliidae). Dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, redox potential, chemical oxygen demand, and nutrients contributed to an explanation of species distributions. Species in clean waters and in more polluted waters had narrow niches; those in low to moderately polluted waters had broader niches. Species in the lower reaches of the watercourses had greater turnover, perhaps because the most ...
Black flies are abundant benthic organisms in well-oxygenated running water and are considered ef... more Black flies are abundant benthic organisms in well-oxygenated running water and are considered effective bioindicators of water quality. Information on the ecology of these organisms at the species level is important, since up to now information has mainly been available on a family level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the composition of black flies and their relationships to a group of physical and chemical factors in four small rivers of the Eastern Hills around Bogotá, Colombia. These headwaters are protected by the Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogotá. Black fly larvae and pupae were collected during four sampling periods during the dry season to the early rainy season of 2012. Multivariate methods were used to determine the presence of each species in relation to dissolved oxygen, nitrates, pH, temperature, and water velocity. PCA ordination revealed a physicochemical environment with a tendency towards a certain homogeneity in the fourrivers studied. The DCA...
Blood clotting at wound sites is critical for preventing blood loss and invasion by microorganism... more Blood clotting at wound sites is critical for preventing blood loss and invasion by microorganisms in multicellular animals, especially small insects vulnerable to dehydration. The mechanistic reaction of the clot is the first step in providing scaffolding for the formation of new epithelial and cuticular tissue. The clot, therefore, requires special materials properties. We have developed and used nano-rheological magnetic rotational spectroscopy with nanorods to quantitatively study nucleation of cell aggregates that occurs within fractions of a second. Using larvae of Manduca sexta, we discovered that clot nucleation is a two-step process whereby cell aggregation is the time-limiting step followed by rigidification of the aggregate. Clot nucleation and transformation of viscous blood into a visco-elastic aggregate happens in a few minutes, which is hundreds of times faster than wound plugging and scab formation. This discovery sets a time scale for insect clotting phenomena, esta...
Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch o... more Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch of cloud forest at 1,600 meters above sea level at Zurquí de Moravia, San José Province, Costa Rica (hereafter referred to as Zurquí), revealed an astounding 4,332 species. This amounts to more than half the number of named species of flies for all of Central America. Specimens were collected with two Malaise traps running continuously and with a wide array of supplementary collecting methods for three days of each month. All morphospecies from all 73 families recorded were fully curated by technicians before submission to an international team of 59 taxonomic experts for identification. Overall, a Malaise trap on the forest edge captured 1,988 species or 51% of all collected dipteran taxa (other than of Phoridae, subsampled only from this and one other Malaise trap). A Malaise trap in the forest sampled 906 species. Of other sampling methods, the combination of four other Malaise ...
Molecular studies have suggested that the true diversity of Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemospor... more Molecular studies have suggested that the true diversity of Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemospororida) species well exceeds the approximately 35 currently described taxa. Further, the degree of host-specificity may vary substantially among lineages. Parasite distribution can be influenced by the ability of the parasite to infect a host, vector preferences for certain avian hosts, or other factors such as microhabitat requirements that increase the probability that vertebrate hosts and vectors are in frequent contact with each other. Whereas most studies of haemosporidians have focused on passerine hosts, sampling vectors in the same habitats may allow the detection of other lineages affecting other hosts. We sampled abundant, ornithophilic black flies (Simuliidae) across a variety of sites and habitats in the Colorado Rocky Mountains throughout the summer of 2007. Black flies were screened with PCR using Leucocytozoon-specific primers that amplify a portion of the cytochrome b gene...
Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 1999
In response to increasing pest populations of black flies, the government of Argentina initiated ... more In response to increasing pest populations of black flies, the government of Argentina initiated a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of larval control in the irrigation system of the Negro River Valley, an 18,240-km2 area in Patagonia. The extensive system of irrigation canals, drainage ditches, and natural waterways not only provides water for agriculture and general habitation but also affords habitat for immature black flies. Three species (Simulium bonaerense, Simulium wolffhuegeli, and Simulium nigristrigatum) are primary pests of humans and animals in this area. Trials were conducted using Vectobac AS in representative irrigation canals, a drainage ditch, and a medium-sized river. Most trials resulted in effective larval mortality and insecticide carry. Based on a comparison with 11 black fly suppression programs throughout the world, a suppression program for the Negro River Valley has a projected cost of approximately $1,623,360/year. This study represents the init...
The polytene chromosomes are mapped for a scarce Himalayan simuliid, Simulium (Montisimulium) gho... more The polytene chromosomes are mapped for a scarce Himalayan simuliid, Simulium (Montisimulium) ghoomense Datta, from the Darjeeling area of India. This species has three tightly paired polytene chromosomes with a haploid number of 3. Chromosomes I, II, and III account for 39.6%, 30.3%, and 30.1% of the total complement length, respectively. The centromeres of chromosomes II and III consistently form a putative partial chromocenter. Sex chromosomes are undifferentiated and polymorphisms and sibling species are lacking in a sample of 35 larvae. This is the first chromosomal map for a species in the subgenus Montisimulium in India.
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