Exploring the Diversity and Abundance of Necrophagous Flies in Tabriz City, Northwest of Iran: Implications for Medical and Health Importance

Abstract Background: Flies are of medical importance and cause problems by transmitting mechanically various pathogens to human and animals and myiasis. This study was performed to determine the diversity and abundance of medically important flies in Tabriz city, Northwest of Iran. Methods: Adult flies and their larvae trapping was conducted on a monthly basis from July to October 2021. Then, the trapped flies were identified morphologically using valid identification keys. Simpson index, Shannon index, Jackknife Procedure, Margalef index, Menhinick index, Camargo, Modified Nee, and Smith and Wilson indexes were calculated to determine species diversity and species richness and species evenness as well as species biodiversity of flies. Also, the rare or dominant species was estimated by Rarity richness index. Results: In this study, totally 17 species flies including Musca domestica , Muscina stabulans , Phaonia spp., Hydrotaea spp., Musca autumnalis , Lucilia sericata , Chrysomya albiceps , Calliphora vicina , Sarcophaga africa , Sarcophaga variegata, Sarcophaga argyrostoma , Sarcophaga aegyptica , Sarcophaga sp., Sarcophaga lehmanni , Sarcophaga ( Liosarcophaga ) spp., Fannia sp., and Anthomyia sp. from five families (Muscidae, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Fanniidae, and Anthomyiidae) were identified. According to the bootstrapping method, Simpson index and Shannon index were 0.792 and 2.638, respectively and the number of common species was estimated to be 6.22 at the 95% confidence level. The highest species diversity was related to Sarcophagidae family and the lowest of that was related to Muscidae family by Shannon index. Musca autumnalis and M. domestica species were recognized as the rare species and the dominant species, respectively. Conclusions: The highest number of fly species (14) were caught in August and September, and the lowest number of species (9) in October. Due to the medical and health importance of flies, it is recommended to take measures to control population of these insects.