Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: LUIZ HENRIQUE MACIEL FEITOZA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : LUIZ HENRIQUE MACIEL FEITOZA
DATE: 17/03/2026
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Sala Virtual Remota: https://bit.ly/QualifDoc_LuizFeitoza_PGBIOEXP
TITLE:

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KEY WORDS:

Midges, Riparian vegetation, Oviposition, Surveillance, Oropouche.

PAGES: 155
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Biologia Geral
SUMMARY:

Ceratopogonids are dipterans with broad distribution and diversity, occurring in various environments, and some species of the genus Culicoides are of medical and veterinary importance. Information on the bionomy and ecology of these insects can contribute to the understanding of their occurrence in urban areas, as well as provide data for colonization in the laboratory, which are essential for understanding their vector activity. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the species diversity of Culicoides and natural infection by trypanosomatids in riparian vegetation fragments in the urban area of Porto Velho, Rondônia, to conduct assays that would allow the colonization of Culicoides paraensis under laboratory conditions, and to carry out entomovirological surveillance for the Oropouche virus (OROV). Ten urban forest fragments were selected for entomological collections in Porto Velho. For colonization assays, oviposition experiments were conducted to assess substrate selection. For Oropouche virus surveillance, entomological collections were made in residences and adjacent areas with human cases of the virus. A total of 564 individuals from the genus Culicoides were captured, distributed across 17 species. All 10 locations presented insects of the genus, in varying abundances. The variation in area size affected the number of individuals and the number of Culicoides species. Regarding vertical stratification, the canopy and ground strata yielded similar results, with 304 and 260 insects collected, respectively. In the oviposition assays, 563 eggs of Culicoides paraensis were deposited, with 203 eggs in the first assay, deposited by 10 females; 179 in the second assay, deposited by 12 females; and 181 in the third assay, deposited by 13 females. Of the 300 females used, 83 were gravid, developing eggs, with 35 responsible for oviposition and 48 for egg retention. The substrate "Decaying Stem" had the highest number of eggs deposited (n=282), followed by "Fresh Stem" (n=213), "Infusion" (n=66), and "Water" (n=2). Regarding entomovirological surveillance, 3,950 insects were sampled, distributed among mosquitoes (Culicidae), midges (Ceratopogonidae), and phlebotomines (Phlebotominae), identified in 19 species/taxa. The most abundant species were Culex quinquefasciatus (n=2,048), Culicoides paraensis (n=1,465), Aedes aegypti (n=166), Aedes albopictus (n=116), and Limatus durhamii (n=36). The insects were grouped into 559 samples. Of these, seven tested positive for OROV target sequence amplification. The minimum infection rate (MIR) was 1.44 for all collected insects, 1.69 for females, and 0.77 for males. Regarding the species found with viral RNA, the rates obtained were 2.04 for Cx. quinquefasciatus, 5.37 for Ae. albopictus, and 16.1 for Li. durhamii.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - BRUNA LAÍS SENA DO NASCIMENTO
Interno - ***.927.277-** - GABRIEL EDUARDO MELIM FERREIRA - UNIR
Externa à Instituição - MARIA CLARA ALVES SANTARÉM - FIOCRUZ