title: Distribution and altitudinal structuring of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in southern Anatolia, Turkey: their relation to human cutaneous leishmaniasis.
abstract: The two Old World genera, Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia, were both recorded in southern Anatolia in Turkey. Phlebotomus species predominated and comprised about 93% of the entire collection (3,172 specimens). Out of the sixteen species identified, two belonged to the genus Sergentomyia: S. dentata and S. theodori. The remaining fourteen species in the genus Phlebotomus were grouped under four subgenera including some species that are elsewhere known to act as vectors of human cutaneous leishmaniasis. Most of the Phlebotomus were P. tobbi (32.5%), but P. papatasi, P. transcaucasicus, P. halepensis, P. galilaeus, P. sergenti, P. syriacus, P. neglectus, P. simici, P. alexandri, P. similis, P jacusieli, P. perfiliewi, and P. brevis were also identified. There were two associations of sand fly fauna with altitudinal gradient; the first one at relatively higher altitudes and the second one at lower altitudes. The transition between these two assemblages was within the range of 800-1,000 m. It is likely that Adana and Hatay provinces are transitional areas between western and eastern Anatolia. Mountains do not appear to be important geographical barriers for sand fly distribution. We also found that the proven vector P. sergenti is a widely distributed species throughout southern Anatolia and this species, together with its closely related species P. similis, shows sympatry in Konya Province.
authors.affiliation: Adnan Menderes University, Art and Science Faculty, Biology Department, Ecology Section, 09010 Aydin, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Simsek
authors.forename: Bulent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alten
authors.forename: Selim S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Caglar
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ozbel
authors.forename: A Murat
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Aytekin
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaynas
authors.forename: Asli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belen
authors.forename: Ozge Erisoz
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Kasap
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yaman
authors.forename: Samiye
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rastgeldi
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000635:transmission*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011156:Population Density; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal