Spatial and temporal variability of necrophagous Diptera from urban to rural areas

Abstract

The spatio-temporal variability of necrophagous fly assemblages in a linear series of habitats from central London to the rural surroundings in the south-west was studied using bottle traps between June 2001 and September 2002. A total of 3,314 individuals in 20 dipteran families were identified from 127 sampling occasions. Calliphoridae accounted for 78.6% of all the dipteran specimens, with Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy, being the most abundant species (2,603 individuals, 46.9%). Using canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) on 72 fly taxa, six sampled sites and 36 environmental variables, three habitat types corresponding to three groups of flies were identified. These were an urban habitat characterized by C. vicina, Lucilia illustris (Meigen) and L. sericata (Meigen), a rural grassland habitat, characterized by L. caesar (Linnaeus) and a rural woodland habitat characterized by Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus), Phaonia subventa (Harris), Neuroctena anilis (Fallén) and Tephrochlamys flavipes (Zetterstedt). Intermediate species (L. ampullacea Villeneuve and P. pallida (Fabricius), located between the three habitats, were also found. Temporal abundance of the 10 most abundant species showed fluctuations between seasons, having low numbers of captured individuals during winter. Correspondence analysis showed clearly seasonal patterns at Box Hill site. The species-habitat associations suggest habitat differentiation between necrophagous guilds in this area and may be of ecological value.