title: Seasonal biodiversity of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) and evaluation of ecological factors influencing species distribution at Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, Thailand.
abstract: This is the first study on the seasonal biodiversity of black flies and evaluation of ecological factors influencing their distribution at Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, northern Thailand. Larvae were collected from six fixed-stream sites in relation to altitude gradients from May 2011 to April 2013. The water temperature, water pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), salt, water velocity, stream width and depth, streambed particle sizes, riparian vegetation, and canopy cover were recorded from each site. Monthly collections from the six sites yielded 5475 last-instar larvae, belonging to 29 black fly species. The most frequently found species from all sites were Simulium asakoae (100%) followed by Simulium yuphae (83.3%), and Simulium chiangdaoense, Simulium gombakense, Simulium phahompokense, Simulium fruticosum, Simulium maeaiense and Simulium fenestratum (66.6%). Of the 5475 last-instar larvae, S. maeaiense (19.3%), S. chiangdaoense (15.8%) and S. asakoae (14.8%), were the three most abundant species. The Shannon diversity index (H) at the six sites with different altitudes of 2100m, 2000m, 1500m, 1400m, 700m, and 500m above mean sea level, were 2.042, 1.832, 2.158, 2.123, 1.821 and 1.822, respectively. The Shannon index and number of taxa in the cold season were higher than those in the rainy and hot seasons. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that at least three principal components have eigen values >1.0 and accounted for 93.5% of the total variability of ecological factors among sampling sites. The Canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) showed that most species had a trend towards altitude, canopy cover, riparian vegetation and water velocity.
authors.affiliation: Entomology Section, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, P.O. Box 7, Chiang Mai 50180, Thailand; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: wsrisuka@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Wichai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Srisuka
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. Electronic address: takaoka@oita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takaoka
authors.affiliation: Research Center for the Pacific Islands, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-8580, Japan. Electronic address: yotsuka@cpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Hasama, Oita 879-5593, Japan; Research Promotion Institute, Oita University, Hasama, Oita 879-5593, Japan. Electronic address: mfukuda@oita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Science (Establishment Project), Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand. Electronic address: sorawat_ton@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Sorawat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thongsahuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: kritsana_taai@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Kritsana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taai
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: wchoocho@mail.med.cmu.ac.th.
authors.forename: Wej
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Choochote
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: atisaeung.noi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Atiporn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saeung
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D004463:Ecology; D007814:Larva; D000068316:Parks, Recreational; D045483:Rivers; D012621:Seasons; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000145:classification*; D013785:Thailand
keywords: Black fly; Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park; Ecological factor; Shannon diversity index; Simuliidae; Simulium