title: Behavioral plasticity of Triatominae related to habitat selection in northeast Brazil.
abstract: Triatoma pseudomaculata Corrêa and Espínola, 1964 and Triatoma juazeirensis Costa and Felix, 2007 ( = T. brasiliensis Neiva, 1911 [part]), are sylvatic vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909), the causative agent of Chagas disease, in northeast Brazil-especially in the caatinga region. In an area of caatinga in the State of Bahia, we compared the wild and peridomestic habitats of these two species of Triatominae to assess their behavioral plasticity in relation to habitat selection in different environments. In the sylvatic environment, the habitat of these two species is never shared. T. pseudomaculata is found in trees and bird nests, but without apparent preference for any particular tree species. In contrast, T. juazeirensis is exclusively rupicolous (found among rocks). Both species invade peridomestic structures but do not display a significant ability to colonize human dwellings. In the peridomestic area, they are highly adaptable to different habitats and can occupy substrates that they do not colonize in the sylvatic environment. This behavioral plasticity seems to be more striking in T. juazeirensis-rupicolous in sylvatic environments but colonizing wooden structures in the peridomicile in >80% of cases.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. carbajal@ioc.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Ana Laura Carbajal
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: de la Fuente
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dias-Lima
authors.forename: Catarina Macedo
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Emperaire
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Agenor
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Italo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sherlock
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noireau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D014197:Trees; D014225:Triatominae / Q000502:physiology*