The potential of using Drosophila as bioindicator in a restinga environment

The model organism Drosophila has been used in several areas of biology, and recent studies have suggested the potential of the Family Drosophilidae as an environmental bioindicator. However, the diversity of the family is poorly known, especially in certain environments such as the Restinga, a Brazilian lowland coastal environment. Given this, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the Drosophilidae biodiversity in the Itapeva State Park, in the municipality of Torres, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in different seasons. Although the park is in a conservation unit, there are agricultural and pastoral activities in the area. We made seasonal samplings in 2013 using banana bait traps. Summer and Spring were the seasons with higher abundance, whereas Autumn was the richest. There was a predominance of exotic species, especially during Summer and Spring, and Drosophila simulans and Zaprionus indianus were the main representatives . Our study shows that Itapeva State Park biodiversity is comparable to other restinga surveys. The Itapeva State Park is in an intermediate state of conservation, and our results suggest that the urbanization within the park is possibly affecting the biodiversity, and the massive presence of exotic species may lead to biotic homogenization and loss of endemic species.