title: Ecology and morphological variations in wings of Phlebotomus ariasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the region of Roquedur (Gard, France): a geometric morphometrics approach.
abstract: Phlebotomus ariasi Tonnoir, 1921, is the predominant sand fly species in the Cevennes region and a proven vector of Leishmania infantum, which is the main pathogen of visceral and canine leishmaniasis in the south of France. Even if this species is widely present in Western Mediterranean countries, its biology and ecology remain poorly known. The main goals of this work are to investigate the phenotypic variation of P. ariasi at a local scale in a region characterized by climatic and environmental fluctuations, and to determine if slope and altitude could affect the sand fly phenotypes.
  
  
  
  Sand flies were captured along a 14 km-long transect in 2011 from May to October. At the same time, environmental data such as altitude and slope were also collected. Morphological analysis of P. ariasi wings was performed by a geometric morphometrics approach. We found morphological variation among local populations of P. ariasi. Strong shape and size variations were observed in the course of the season (particularly in June and July) for both genders. During June, we highlighted differences in wing phenotypes according to altitude for both sexes and to slope and station for females.
  
  
  
  The phenotypic variations observed in P. ariasi along the studied transect indicated these populations are subjected to environmental pressures. Nevertheless, it seems that sand flies are more sensitive to extrinsic factors in June and July, suggesting a phenotypic plasticity.
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC (IRD 224 - CNRS 5290 - Université de Montpellier), 911 avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, F34394, France. jorian.prudhomme@hotmail.fr.
authors.forename: Jorian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prudhomme
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC (IRD 224 - CNRS 5290 - Université de Montpellier), 911 avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cassan
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC (IRD 224 - CNRS 5290 - Université de Montpellier), 911 avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Mallorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hide
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC (IRD 224 - CNRS 5290 - Université de Montpellier), 911 avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toty
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC (IRD 224 - CNRS 5290 - Université de Montpellier), 911 avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Nil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rahola
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC (IRD 224 - CNRS 5290 - Université de Montpellier), 911 avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Baptiste
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vergnes
authors.affiliation: UMR INTERTRYP (IRD - CIRAD 177), Centre IRD, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dujardin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ecology Section, Faculty of Science, Hacettepe University, HU-ESRL-VERG Laboratories, Beytepe, Ankara, 0680, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bulent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alten
authors.affiliation: UMR INTERTRYP (IRD - CIRAD 177), Centre IRD, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sereno
authors.affiliation: UMR MIVEGEC (IRD 224 - CNRS 5290 - Université de Montpellier), 911 avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, F34394, France.
authors.forename: Anne-Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bañuls
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001699:Biometry; D005602:France; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D058974:Phylogeography; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Geometric morphometry; Phenotypic plasticity; Phlebotomus ariasi; Sand fly; Southern France