The structure of carrion fly (Diptera) communities and conditions of their formation in towns of Northwestern Russia

Abstract

The structure of the carrion-associated Diptera assemblages from five towns and a village in Northwestern Russia was investigated. The carrion fly complex comprises 13 species of 4 families: Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, and Fanniidae. The impact of the meteorological (wind speed, environment temperature, air humidity) and biotopic conditions (distance from water bodies and forests) on the composition of the carrion fly assemblages was analyzed. In all the study localities a chicken carcass was used as bait. Our data show that the community is uniform within Northwestern Russia and that its structure in different parts of the season mainly depends on the meteorological conditions and, to a lesser extent, on the biotopic environment.