Determination of Black Fly species in Kirmir Stream (Ankara, Turkey) and their seasonal distribution

This is the first study on the distribution and ecology of black flies in the Kirmir Stream. The Kirmir Stream is a tributary of the Sakarya River, which is one of the most important rivers in Turkey. To determine the Simuliidae fauna of the Kirmir Stream, 30 studying sites were sampled in June 2022, October 2022, and January 2023. A total of 8853 specimens were collected, and eight species were identified. Simulium bezzii Corti, 1914 was the most abundant species, Simulium petricolum Rivosecchi, 1963 was the most frequent and most common species while Simulium erythrocephalum De Geer, 1776 and Simulium angustitarse Lundström, 1911 were rare species in the Kirmir Stream. Simulium pseudequinum Seguy, 1921 was recorded as the species with the highest number of individuals in June 2022, followed by S. petricolum in October 2022, and S. bezzii in January 2023. In addition, environmental variables (water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, electrical conductivity, and current velocity) were measured at the sampling sites. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to analyze the relationship between blackfly species and environmental variables for the first time for the Kirmir Stream. Such studies are of great importance to protect the habitat quality of the Kirmir Stream, which is under the influence of domestic and agricultural pollution.