Author(s)

Mbunkah Daniel Achukwi, Jessica Gillingwater, Alexandre Michel Njan Nloga, Gustave Simo

Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), Wakwa Regional Center, Veterinary Research Laboratory, Ngaoundere, Cameroun.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
School of Medicine and Veterinary Sciences, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroun.

Trypanosomosis remains the number one killer of livestock in spite of efforts made to eradicate tsetse flies in the Adamawa plateau of Cameroon. Acetone-baited Laveissière type biconical traps were pitched at 100 meter intervals in strategic geo-referenced positions in various ecological niches of the landscape for 5 consecutive days in selected villages in Mayo Rey, Mbere, Vina and Faro et Deo divisions. All 493 tsetse flies captured in sites other than Mboula wereG. morsitans submositans.Measurement of different morphometric characters on the wings of each individual fly was undertaken using the Du Jardin package. The data was processed and analysed by “Permutaciones,
Analisis Discriminante (PAD)” and “Bootstraps, Analisis en Componentes principales”. The three major sampling sites on the plateau yielded similar results as demonstrated by the neighbour joining tree of Mahalanobis distances but tests using PAD showed the differences between group means to be significant (P < 0.05) even when the same number of flies was used. Mixing of tsetse populations from the northern lowlands and those on the plateau and Koutine plain could not be ruled out. These preliminary findings suggest that the flies are not from isolated populations and should be considered as populations frequently exchanging migrants. However, molecular genetics techniques are necessary in addition to morphometric analysis to reach more definitive conclusions.

Glossina morsitans submositans; Fly Wing; Geometric Morphometry; Adamawa Plateau Cameroon

Daniel Achukwi, M. , Gillingwater, J. , Michel Njan Nloga, A. and Simo, G. (2013) Lack of evidence for sufficiently isolated populations of Glossina morsitans submorsitans on the Adamawa Plateau of Cameroon following geometric morphometric analysis. Advances in Entomology, 1, 1-7. doi: 10.4236/ae.2013.11001.