Author(s)

Chafika Chaoui Boudghane-Bendiouis¹, Karima Abdellaoui-Hassaïne^1*, Boutaïna Belqat², Evelyne Franquet³, Samira Boukli Hacene¹, Baya Yadi¹

¹Laboratory of Valuation of the Actions of the Man for the Environmental Protection and the Application in Public Health, University of Tlemcen, Tlemcen, Algeria.
²Laboratory of Ecology, Biodiversity and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, University Abdelmalek Essaadi, Tetouan, Morocco.
³Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie Marine et Continentale (IMBE), Université Aix-Marseille, Provence, France.

Physical Habitat characterization of black flies was performed in the Tafna Basin of Algeria, based primarily on stream size, substrate, and aquatic and riparian vegetation. A total of 143 samples were taken between April and October 2009 at 11 sampling sites in the Tafna catchment. Dams exerted an effect through a slowdown of flow and sedimentation of fine particles, eliminating coarse microhabitats favorable for black flies. Stream and substrate characteristics are key parameters that determined the microhabitats of the species. Of 10 species considered, four were widely present with significant plasticity for the stream and substrate. Four other species were more closely associated with faster streams and eroded substrate. A greater rheophilic tendency was found for Simulium bezzii (Corti), Simulium sergenti Edwards, Simulium quadrifila Grenier, Faure and Laurent and Simulium galloprovinciale Giudicelli, which represents a new record for Algeria.

Mediterranean Fauna, Aquatic Insects, Diversity, Ecology, Microhabitat, Microdistribution

Boudghane-Bendiouis, C. , Abdellaoui-Hassaïne, K. , Belqat, B. , Franquet, E. , Hacene, S. and Yadi, B. (2014) Habitat Characterization of Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the Tafna Catchment of Western Algeria. Open Journal of Ecology, 4, 1014-1024. doi: 10.4236/oje.2014.416084.