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Spatial and temporal distribution of Tabanidae in the Pyrenees Mountains: the influence of altitude and landscape structure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2013

F. Baldacchino ,
A. Porciani ,
C. Bernard  and
P. Jay-Robert
F. Baldacchino*
Affiliation:
Dynamique et Gouvernance des Systèmes Ecologiques, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), UMR 5175, Université Paul-Valéry (UM3), Montpellier, France
A. Porciani
Affiliation:
Dynamique et Gouvernance des Systèmes Ecologiques, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), UMR 5175, Université Paul-Valéry (UM3), Montpellier, France
C. Bernard
Affiliation:
Système d'Information Géographique en Ecologie, CEFE, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Montpellier, France
P. Jay-Robert
Affiliation:
Dynamique et Gouvernance des Systèmes Ecologiques, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), UMR 5175, Université Paul-Valéry (UM3), Montpellier, France
*
*Author for correspondence Phone: + 33 4 67 14 23 21 Fax: + 33 4 67 14 24 59 E-mail: frederic.baldacchino@cefe.cnrs.fr
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Abstract

In high-altitude summer pastures, horseflies (Diptera: Tabanidae) can be a serious nuisance to livestock, as well as mechanical vectors of animal diseases such as besnoitiosis, an enzootic disease in the Pyrenees. However, the activity of horseflies in mountainous environments is poorly documented. To study the seasonality and distribution of tabanids in the Pyrenees Mountains, a sampling design was set up in two valleys on opposite sides of the mountain, one north-facing and one south-facing, along high-elevation gradients and at different distances from a water body between May and October 2011. The influence of the landscape on species richness and abundance was assessed by taking into account forested and unforested areas in 200 m radii around the trapping sites. Our findings indicated that: (1) The slope, the altitude and the size of unforested patches significantly influenced community composition of tabanids. (2) Altitude had a positive or a negative effect, depending on the species. (3) Species richness and abundance were negatively correlated with large open habitats and positively correlated with patch-shape complexity. (4) Seasonal succession of the most abundant species was observed in both valleys, with a maximum of catches at the beginning of August; however, tabanid activity ended earlier in the southern valley, which was more exposed to sunlight. (5) Philipomyia aprica, Tabanus bromius, Tabanus glaucopis and Hybomitra auripila were active from 9:00 to 19:00 h (GMT+1), with a peak of activity at midday. This paper also discusses the implications of these findings in relation to changes in horsefly distribution and their control in mountainous environments.

Keywords

TabanidaePyreneeselevationlandscapeseasonal abundancedaily activity
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 104 , Issue 1 , February 2014 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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