Impactos das mudanças climáticas e ambientais na distribuição espacial de Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho, 1939) (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) e no processo de expansão geográfica da Leishmaniose tegumentar americana (LTA) no Brasil

American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) currently faces geographical expansion in Brazil, in transmission patterns associated to anthropic environmental impacts. In this scenario, we highlight Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani, as the main vector of ACL, transmitting three dermotropic leishmanias: Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, Leishmania (Viannia) shawi and Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis. The objective of this thesis is to characterize epidemiological scenarios, to define determinants of the ACL expansion process in Brazil, and to identify areas that are amenable to the outbreak of epidemic outbreaks associated with L. (N.) whitmani, in the face of climatic and environmental changes. The document is divided in six chapters. Of the 5570 Brazilian municipalities, L. (N.) whitmani is present in 808, occurs in twenty five federated units, with no information for the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The states with the highest spatial aggregation by counties with vector occurrence are Acre, Amazonas, Rondonia, Para, Tocantins, Amapa, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Ceara, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, Sao Paulo and Parana , which are also areas of high concentration of human cases of ACL and of important spatial circuits of disease production. Lutzomyia (N.) whitmani is widely distributed in Brazilian biomes. Its presence was recorded in the Amazon Forest, Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlântic Forest and Pantanal, occurring mainly in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. Observing its occurrence in different types of Brazilian vegetation, the vector occurs in municipalities with predominantly dense ombrophylous forest, mixed ombrophylous forest, open ombrophylous forest, deciduous and semidecidual forest, areas of ecological tension, savanna and steppe The species was not observed in municipalities predominantly covered by marshes and sandy accumulations. In the states that cover the Amazonia Legal, ACL as well as L. (N.) whitmani occur frequently, with an increase in the number of cases and vector density related to areas with environmental alterations due to deforestation, mining, road construction, population settlements, among others. The ecological niche models presented good predictive performance, projections in two climate change scenarios indicate areas of probable expansion of L. (N.) whitmani and ACL in 2050, towards the North and South regions for L. (N.) whitmani and northwestern Brazil for the ACL. The geographic distribution database of L. (N.) whitmani and the ACL in Brazil, were sent to the National Observatory of Climate and Health, whose mission is to gather and share information, technologies and knowledge aimed at the development of networks of researchers and studies that evaluate the impacts of environmental and climatic changes on the health of the Brazilian population. We conclude that ecological niche models, as well as geotechnologies are effective methods in predicting the occurrence of vectors and human cases of ACL, and may assist health managers in the surveillance and control of infectious diseases.