Abstract
Abstract: The seasonal population density is informed for two epidemiologically important species of bloodsucking Tabanidae, Tabanus occidentalis Linnaeus and T. pungens Wiedemann, recorded at the Fernando de Noronha archipelago that was never connected to the continent. The two species are widespread in the Neotropical Region, have not been recorded from any other oceanic island, and have most likely been introduced accidentally in the archipelago. Tabanus occidentalis dominated the samples, encompassing 99.6% of the specimens collected in the two local seasons, rainy and dry. Tabanus pungens was rarer, encompassing 0.4% of the specimens collected mainly in the dry season. The tabanids of Fernando de Noronha are able to transmit blood pathogens, bringing risks to the health of the livestock. They also pester the tourists, which brings losses to the local tourist industry. Larvae of both species were already collected in the water lettuce Pistia stratiotes Linnaeus and it is highly recommend that this introduced aquatic plant be removed from the ponds of Fernando de Noronha to control tabanid populations.
Highlights
The Brazilian oceanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha is located at the equatorial South Atlantic region (Figure 1)
Tabanus occidentalis (Figures 3a–e) This species belongs to a complex of species that have been treated as “varieties” or subspecies, but presently all “varieties” or subespecies are under T. occidentalis according to the Neotropical catalogue (Coscarón & Papavero 2009)
Tabanus occidentalis is the most abundant horse fly in Fernando de Noronha, representing 99.6% of the specimens collected throughout the nine months using interception traps, from June 2019 to February 2010, in both rainy and dry seasons (Figure 4)
Summary
The Brazilian oceanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha is located at the equatorial South Atlantic region (Figure 1). It is under the jurisdiction of the state of Pernambuco, but it is a federal preservation area (i.e., National Park) managed by Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade - ICMBio (agency of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment) (Rafael et al 2020). The archipelago represents the top of a volcanic cone belonging to an underwater mountain. This mountain is estimated at 12.0 to 1.5 million years old and has never been connected to the mainland (Barcellos et al 2015). The only island inhabited by humans is the main island, Fernando de Noronha, encompassing 16.9 km (Teixeira et al 2003, Rafael et al 2020)
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