Banca de DEFESA: CECÍLIA FERREIRA DE MELLO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : CECÍLIA FERREIRA DE MELLO
DATE: 01/02/2022
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: on-line
TITLE:

Ecology and Morphology of Species Groups Of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), With Emphasis On The Tribe Mansoniini, In Areas Of Hydroelectric Exploitation In The Amazon, State Of Rondônia — Brazil

KEY WORDS:

Mansonia spp., Coquillettidia spp. Hydroelectric, Amazon, Ecology, Geometric Morphometry, Electron Microscopy, Eggs

PAGES: 140
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Parasitologia
SUBÁREA: Entomologia e Malacologia de Parasitos e Vetores
SUMMARY:

The main natural wetlands of the Brazilian Amazon, such as igapos, swamps, meadows,
mangroves, and floodplains that border the springs and land depressions, provide refuge
for many animals and plants, thus contributing to increasing local diversity and
productivity. These environments are characterized by hydrological extremes of
flooding and drought and are therefore excellent models for ecological studies, as they
present very different limits and are subject to disturbance processes caused by these
two periods. In anthropogenic wetlands, on the other hand, disturbance processes are
caused by different types of human action or intervention. As a result, large lakes are
formed during the construction of hydroelectric dams, completely altering the
landscape, eliminating the floodplain, and turning the lotic system into a lentic system,
which tends to favor floating species of aquatic macrophytes. In aquatic habitats of
constant nutrient richness, low turbulence, absence of predatory and competing species,
and also favorable climatic conditions, aquatic macrophytes have the ability to rapidly
increase their biomass through sexual or asexual reproduction, constituting an excellent
substrate for so many animals. The Mansoniini tribe is a group of mosquitoes belonging
to the Culicinae subfamily and closely associated with this type of environment. With
flat leaves to improve flotation and roots specialized in transporting air, aquatic 

macrophytes form a microclimate much richer in oxygen and become a real nursery for
several species of the Mansoniini tribe. The Mansoniini females lay their eggs in
groups, under the leaves of these plants, mainly grasses. When they hatch, the larvae
cross the water column and settle in the roots in order to absorb oxygen directly from
the parenchyma, given that, unlike most mosquitoes, this group does not breathe on the
water surface, demonstrating one of the main reasons for this skillful relationship.
Aquatic macrophytes are plants found in all types of water bodies, even at low richness
or biomass, classified as submerged, emergent, floating leaf, and floating. They are
fundamental for the metabolism of ecosystems, acting as a substrate for algae,
sustaining the debris and herbivore chain, therefore, functioning as a nutrient storage
compartment. Seasonal variations contribute to ecosystems not being static, but
dynamic and variable, considering that the Amazon region is highly seasonal, with two
well-defined seasons: a rainy season in the Amazon winter and summer. Therefore, we
investigated the population dynamics of Culicidae with emphasis on the Mansoniini
tribe in these two periods, for two consecutive years, measuring the richness, diversity,
dominance in hydroelectric exploitation areas in the Amazon, state of Rondônia, Brazil.
The information obtained in this study is presented in the form of five articles on the
bioecology and morphology of Culicidae with an emphasis on the tribe Mansoniini. The
temporal distribution of mosquitoes with emphasis on the Mansoniini tribe is addressed
in the first chapter “Temporal distribution of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) with
emphasis on the Mansoniini tribe in the Amazon biome and its interaction with climatic
factors”. The results of the Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed that the
maximum temperature variable was significant and had a real influence on the
distribution of mosquito populations in the study area. At the same time, in the
relationship between the richness of species in each sample with the accumulated
rainfall before the start of capture and with the set of evaluated data, geometric
regression was observed. This represents the data with an adjustment coefficient,
indicating that there is a positive correlation between the amount of rain accumulated in
the days preceding the captures and the number of species found. These results indicate
that the temperature and precipitation concentrated in the two weeks preceding the
samplings were determinant on mosquito populations and affected the pattern of faunal
composition. The second chapter the “Assessment of the infestation of Mansonia spp.
(Diptera: Culicidae) in aquatic plants of the Madeira river basin in lentic and lotic
environments, Rondônia state, Brazil, evaluated the presence of immature Mansonia
species in different aquatic plants of the Madeira river basin in 10 lentic and lotic
environments and correlated abiotic factors such as water pH, dissolved O2,
conductivity and temperature with the population density of these mosquitoes. These
correlations showed a sharp increase in the rainy season. Therefore, they were able to
establish preliminary parameters of how environmental changes influence the ecology
of this important genus of mosquitoes.These correlations showed a sharp increase in the
rainy season. Therefore, they were able to establish preliminary parameters of how
environmental changes influence the ecology of this important genus of mosquitoes.
The third chapter “Dispersal pattern of Mansonia around the hydroelectric power plant
area in the Amazon Jirau” presents data on the active dispersal of females of Mansonia 

spp. around the Jirau hydroelectric power plant, using mark-release-recapture
techniques. It was observed that the flight behavior of the recaptured specimens was
summarized with a set of average and maximum distances covered and the dispersion
movement of Mansonia spp. it is carried out predominantly by random, low and short
flights, with a tendency to remain close to the breeding sites in certain fragments of
vegetation. These correlations showed a sharp increase in the rainy season. As a result,
they were able to establish preliminary parameters of how environmental changes
influence the ecology of this important mosquito genus. The third chapter “Mansonia
dispersal model around the area of the hydroelectric power station in Amazonia Jirau”
presents data on the active dispersal of females of Mansonia spp. around the Jirau
hydropower plant, using mark-release-recapture techniques. It was observed that the
flight behavior of recaptured specimens was summarized with a set of mean and
maximum distances traveled and the dispersal movement of Mansonia spp. is mainly
carried out by random, low and short flights, with a tendency to stay close to breeding
sites in certain vegetation fragments. The fourth chapter “Influence of seasonality on the
morphological variability of wings in populations of Mansonia amazonensis (Theobald)
(Diptera: Culicidae)” presents results on the analysis of the influence of seasonality on
the morphological variability of wings in populations of Mansonia amazonensis. The
results show that the wing size of Ma. amazonensis increases following a relatively
gradual trend, being smaller during the dry period and larger in the rainy period. In the
fifth chapter "Ultrastructure of Coquillettidia venezuelensis (Theobald) (Diptera:
Culicidae) eggs", in order to find differentiable parameters in the exochory of
Coquillettidia venezuelensis eggs, observations were made using electron microscopy at
scanning, and it was possible to verify that the basal width of the outer chorionic
tubercles of Cq. venezuelensis is more similar to the basal width of Cq. juxtamansonia
eggs than the basal width of the chorionic tubercles of any other Coquillettidia species
for which the egg has been described.

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