ABSTRACT
Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) has a widespread distribution that includes both temperate and tropical climates. It is a potential vector of several important worldwide arboviruses, including chikungunya, zika, and dengue, and its geographical distribution expands rapidly. Despite its vectorial importance, the bioecological features of this species in newly established environments are still not very well known. Thus, this study investigated phenotypic variations among Ae. albopictus populations from different regions in Turkey. This is the first comparative morphological study of Ae. albopictus populations in Turkey. The procrustes distances phenogram derived from wing data indicates that the shape differences among some populations and the population from the Aegean coast differ from the Black Sea populations. Size differences were also detected between some populations.
Subject(s)
Aedes , Chikungunya Fever , Zika Virus Infection , Zika Virus , Animals , Mosquito Vectors , Turkey , Wings, Animal/anatomy & histologyABSTRACT
Malaria is the most important vector borne disease in the world and is endemic in the southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Most important vector species for this disease are found within the Anopheles maculipennis group that is distributed in the Palaearctic Region. The aim of this study was to identify the species of this group distributed within the regions of Birecik, Beysehir and Cankiri using molecular methods. The results of the molecular analysis indicated that only populations of An. sacharovi which is the main malaria vector in our country are found in Biricik. Anopheles maculipennis s.s, Anopheles melanoon and An. sacharovi were identified in the Beysehir region and An. maculipennis s.s and An. Sacharovi, in the Cankiri region. The most abundant species in Beysehir and Cankiri has been determined to be An. maculipennis s.s.