AbstractThe movement patterns of Glossina palpalis palpalis (R.-D.) around villages in Ivory Coast were investigated by means of mark-release-recapture studies at two different sites. At one site, Congo Aboisso I, there appears to have been a single fly population based on the village, with an asymmetric ebb and flow of flies between the village and the surrounding bush; flies tended to remain in or around the village once they had arrived there. At the other site, Degbézéré, on the other hand, there were two populations, one centred on the village and the other on a nearby lake, with considerable exchange between the two. It is suggested that flies go to Degbézéré Village and remain there to feed, primarily on domestic pigs, and females return to the lake briefly to larviposit; males stay longer at the lake, perhaps to increase their chances of mating with emerging females. Long-distance movement of flies between villages, and also an analysis of the spatial pattern of fly movement between Congo Aboisso I and the surrounding bush, shows that human activity may affect the pattern of tsetse movement. Flight activity, and the consequent fly movement, was related to the nutritional status of the flies; males with greater fat content undertook more flight activity and thus tended to move further away from the village. The implications of these results for attempts at local trypanosomiasis control are discussed.
Intra-specific variability of hindlimb length in the palmate newt: an indicator of population isolation induced by habitat fragmentation?
