Batista V S P, Fernandes F A, Cordeiro-Estrela P, Sarquis O, Lima M M
Laboratório de Eco-Epidemiologia da Doença de Chagas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Med Vet Entomol. 2013 Sep;27(3):247-54. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2012.01043.x. Epub 2012 Sep 18.
Triatoma brasiliensis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) is an important vector of Chagas' disease in both sylvatic and peridomestic ecotopes. Discriminating between these populations of Triatominae has been proposed as a means of investigating re-infestation rates of human dwellings. Geometric morphometrics have been widely applied in the study of Triatominae polymorphisms at species and population levels. This study characterizes morphometric differences between sylvatic and peridomestic populations, as well as between sexes in T. brasiliensis specimens from Jaguaruana, Ceará, in northeastern Brazil. No differences in either the shape or size of the cephalic capsule were apparent between sexes or ecotopes. However, the wings showed differentiation in shape and size. Sexual dimorphism was detected, with females presenting significantly higher values and conformations. Size differentiation was also evident, with sylvatic specimens being generally larger than peridomestic examples. These results indicate that differences in the wings of T. brasiliensis may be related to the existence of phenotypic plasticity, and variations in size and shape may be associated with different ecotopes, possibly as a result of conditions in each micro-habitat, such as temperature, relative humidity, food supply and density.
巴西锥蝽（半翅目：猎蝽科）是查加斯病在野生和家栖生态环境中的重要传播媒介。区分这些锥蝽亚科种群已被提议作为一种调查人类住所再感染率的方法。几何形态测量学已广泛应用于锥蝽亚科物种和种群水平的多态性研究。本研究描述了来自巴西东北部塞阿拉州雅瓜鲁阿纳的巴西锥蝽标本中，野生种群和家栖种群之间以及不同性别之间的形态测量差异。在性别或生态环境之间，头壳的形状或大小均无明显差异。然而，翅膀在形状和大小上表现出差异。检测到了两性异形，雌性的数值和形态明显更高。大小差异也很明显，野生标本通常比家栖标本更大。这些结果表明，巴西锥蝽翅膀的差异可能与表型可塑性的存在有关，大小和形状的变化可能与不同的生态环境有关，这可能是由于每个微生境中的条件，如温度、相对湿度、食物供应和密度所致。
