Socioeconomic Disparities in Urban Forest Diversity and Structure in Green Areas of Santiago de Chile.

Urban trees enhance biodiversity, provide ecosystem services, and improve quality of life in cities. Despite their benefits, trees are not distributed equitably, and many cities exhibit a "luxury effect". Given the importance of public green space for providing access to urban tree benefits, we investigated the relationship between socioeconomic level and tree diversity and structure in 60 green areas in Santiago de Chile.

Reduced dengue incidence following city-wide wMel Wolbachia mosquito releases throughout three Colombian cities: Interrupted time series analysis and a prospective case-control study.

Background: The introduction of Wolbachia (wMel strain) into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reduces their capacity to transmit dengue and other arboviruses. Randomised and non-randomised studies in multiple countries have shown significant reductions in dengue incidence following field releases of wMel-infected Ae. aegypti.

Large-scale releases and establishment of wMel Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes throughout the Cities of Bello, Medellín and Itagüí, Colombia.

Background: The wMel strain of Wolbachia has been successfully introduced into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and has been shown to reduce the transmission of dengue and other Aedes-borne viruses. Here we report the entomological results from phased, large-scale releases of Wolbachia infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes throughout three contiguous cities located in the Aburrá Valley, Colombia.

Improving the COI DNA barcoding library for Neotropical phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae).

Sand fly species are traditionally identified using morphological traits, though this method is hampered by the presence of cryptic species. DNA barcoding is a widely used tool in the case of insects of medical importance, where it is necessary to know quickly which species are present in a transmission area. Here, we assess the usefulness of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA barcoding as a practical tool for species identification, correct assignment of isomorphic females, and to evaluate the detection of cryptic diversity that occurs in the same species.

New records of Sabethini (Diptera: Culicidae) from Colombia.

Background: In the Neotropical Region, the mosquitoes, grouped in the tribe Sabethini (Arthropoda, Insecta, Diptera: Culicidae) are considered of medical importance by the role that some species may have in arbovirus transmission; also, because they are good bioindicators. More than 400 species are currently recognised and are mainly associated with forest areas. The tribe Sabethini is poorly studied and the information about diversity and distribution for species relating to it is scarce.

DNA barcoding of Lutzomyia longipalpis species complex (Diptera: Psychodidae), suggests the existence of 8 candidate species.

The sand fly Lutzomyia (L.) longipalpis has been implicated as the primary vector of Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis VL. In addition, it has been associated with atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis transmission in the Neotropic and Central America, respectively.

Use of species delimitation approaches to tackle the cryptic diversity of an assemblage of high Andean butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea).

Cryptic biological diversity has generated ambiguity in taxonomic and evolutionary studies. Single-locus methods and other approaches for species delimitation are useful for addressing this challenge, enabling the practical processing of large numbers of samples for identification and inventory purposes. This study analyzed an assemblage of high Andean butterflies using DNA barcoding and compared the identifications based on the current morphological taxonomy with three methods of species delimitation (automatic barcode gap discovery, generalized mixed Yule coalescent model, and Poisson tree processes).

DNA barcodes, morphology and geographic distribution confirm a new butterfly species in the genus Rhamma (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae).

We diagnose a new butterfly species from the Belmira paramo in the central cordillera of the Colombian Andes. We infer from the barcoding analysis, wing pattern, morphology and distribution that this entity is not a geographical variation or subspecies of any named lycaenid, and it is described herein as Rhamma eleonorae sp. nov.

Pine plantations and five decades of land use change in central Chile.

The expansion of forest plantations is cause for concern because of their environmental effects, and the loss of native forests and agricultural land. Our goal was to quantify the increase in pine plantation, and concomitant loss of native forests, in central Chile since ca. 1960, and to identify in which settings native forests were lost most rapidly.

Wild specimens of sand fly phlebotomine Lutzomyia evansi, vector of leishmaniasis, show high abundance of Methylobacterium and natural carriage of Wolbachia and Cardinium types in the midgut microbiome.

Phlebotomine sand flies are remarkable vectors of several etiologic agents (virus, bacterial, trypanosomatid Leishmania), posing a heavy health burden for human populations mainly located at developing countries. Their intestinal microbiota is involved in a wide range of biological and physiological processes, and could exclude or facilitate such transmission of pathogens. In this study, we investigated the Eubacterial microbiome from digestive tracts of Lu.

Genome Sequence of Chiqui Virus, a Novel Reovirus Isolated from Mosquitoes Collected in Colombia.

We report here the complete genome sequence of a novel reovirus, designated Chiqui virus (CHQV) strain CoB38d, that was isolated from a pool of unidentified mosquitoes collected in northern Colombia in 2013. CHQV has nine double-stranded DNA (dsRNA) genome segments and has similarity to viruses belonging to the family , subfamily .

Intraspecific phylogeny of Anopheles (Kerteszia) neivai Howard, Dyar & Knab 1913, based on mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal genes.

Three mitochondrial regions and a fragment of a large nuclear ribosomal subunit was used to study the evolutionary patterns of An. neivai, a mosquito inhabiting mangroves and tropical forest in the lowland and coastal areas of the Yucatan Peninsula through the Pacific Ecuadorian coast. This species exhibits epidemiological importance regarding Malaria transmission in natural ecosystems, particularly in rural areas of the Pacific Colombian coast.

First record of the sand fly Warileya (Hertigia) hertigi from Antioquia, Colombia.

Introduction: The genus Warileya is one of the least-known taxa of sandflies, comprising only nine species, i.e., W.

Contrasting patterns of Andean diversification among three diverse clades of Neotropical clearwing butterflies.

The Neotropical region is the most biodiverse on Earth, in a large part due to the highly diverse tropical Andean biota. The Andes are a potentially important driver of diversification within the mountains and for neighboring regions. We compared the role of the Andes in diversification among three subtribes of Ithomiini butterflies endemic to the Neotropics, Dircennina, Oleriina, and Godyridina.

Species of sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) collected from natural reserves in the Pacific and Darien regions of Colombia.

Introduction: The departments of Chocó and Antioquia in Colombia show climatic and vegetation conditions favoring the establishment of vector species of the genus Lutzomyia and the transmission of Leishmania spp. to human populations entering conserved forest environments.

Objective: To report the species of Phlebotomine sandflies present in three natural reserves in the Darien and Pacific regions of Colombia.

[Phylogenetic signal at the Cytb-SertRNA-IG1-ND1 mitochondrial region in Anopheles (Kerteszia) neivai Howard, Dyar & Knab, 1913].

Introduction: Mitochondrial DNA has proven its utility for the study of insect evolution. Genes such as cytochrome b (Cytb) and the transfer gene for serine (SertRNA) can be used to compare closely related organisms.

Objective: The phylogenetic utility of Cytb-SertRNA-IG1-ND1 was tested for polymorphisms, and secondary structure modeling in SertRNA was done to detect possible cryptic species in Anopheles neivai.

Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) infected with the American-Asian genotype of dengue type 2 virus in Medellín suggests its possible role as vector of dengue fever in Colombia.

Introduction: Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are recognized vectors of dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika arboviruses in several countries worldwide. In Colombia, Ae.

North Andean origin and diversification of the largest ithomiine butterfly genus.

The Neotropics harbour the most diverse flora and fauna on Earth. The Andes are a major centre of diversification and source of diversity for adjacent areas in plants and vertebrates, but studies on insects remain scarce, even though they constitute the largest fraction of terrestrial biodiversity. Here, we combine molecular and morphological characters to generate a dated phylogeny of the butterfly genus Pteronymia (Nymphalidae: Danainae), which we use to infer spatial, elevational and temporal diversification patterns.

Genetic characterization, molecular epidemiology, and phylogenetic relationships of insect-specific viruses in the taxon Negevirus.

The recently described taxon Negevirus is comprised of a diverse group of insect-specific viruses isolated from mosquitoes and phlebotomine sandflies. In this study, a comprehensive genetic characterization, molecular, epidemiological and evolutionary analyses were conducted on nearly full-length sequences of 91 new negevirus isolates obtained in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Panama, USA and Nepal. We demonstrated that these arthropod restricted viruses are clustered in two major phylogenetic groups with origins related to three plant virus genera (Cilevirus, Higrevirus and Blunevirus).

Sinu virus, a novel and divergent orthomyxovirus related to members of the genus Thogotovirus isolated from mosquitoes in Colombia.

The genome and structural organization of a novel insect-specific orthomyxovirus, designated Sinu virus, is described. Sinu virus (SINUV) was isolated in cultures of C6/36 cells from a pool of mosquitoes collected in northwestern Colombia. The virus has six negative-sense ssRNA segments.

Use of DNA barcoding to distinguish the malaria vector Anopheles neivai in Colombia.

A reference 535 bp barcode sequence from a fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI), acquired from specimens of An. neivai Howard, Dyar & Knab, 1913 from its type locality in Panama, was used as a tool for distinguishing this species from others in the subgenus Kerteszia. Comparisons with corresponding regions of COI between An.

Páramo de Belmira as an important centre of endemism in the northern Colombian Andes: new evidence from Pronophilina butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyrinae, Satyrini).

Páramo de Belmira (Páramo de Santa Inés) is the highest part of the Andean Central Cordillera in the Colombian department of Antioquia. It harbours a pocket of highlands grassland vegetation isolated from the nearest southerly other large paramo extensions by some 150 km. Butterflies sampling was carried out for over three years in the cloud forest-paramo mosaic and open grassland at 2650-3350 m.

Almendravirus: A Proposed New Genus of Rhabdoviruses Isolated from Mosquitoes in Tropical Regions of the Americas.

The Rhabdoviridae is a diverse family of negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, many of which infect vertebrate hosts and are transmitted by hematophagous arthropods. Others appear to be arthropod specific, circulating only within arthropod populations. Herein, we report the isolation and characterization of three novel viruses from mosquitoes collected from the Americas.

Molecular detection of flaviviruses and alphaviruses in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from coastal ecosystems in the Colombian Caribbean.

Arboviruses belonging to the genera Flavivirus and Alphavirus were detected in mosquitoes in a rural area of San Bernardo del Viento (Córdoba, Colombia). A total of 22,180 mosquitoes were collected, sorted into 2,102 pools, and tested by generic/nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, dengue virus, West Nile virus, St.