Age and growth of the Artvin Lizard, Darevskia derjugini (NIKOLSKY, 1898), in Turkey

Kurnaz M., BÜLBÜL U., Eroglu A. I., Uzun F., Koc H., KUTRUP B.

HERPETOZOA, cilt.30, sa.3-4, ss.147-158, 2018 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 30 Sayı: 3-4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2018
  • Dergi Adı: HERPETOZOA
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.147-158
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria: Lacertidae: Darevskia derjugini, population ecology, life history traits, skeletochronology, age at maturity, von Bertalanffy growth curve, sexual size dimorphism, body size, growth rate, longevity, Turkey, BODY-SIZE, GEOGRAPHIC-VARIATION, ENVIRONMENTAL-INFLUENCES, LACERTA-AGILIS, WOOD FROG, POPULATION, LONGEVITY, SKELETOCHRONOLOGY, DIMORPHISM, MATURITY
  • Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The authors investigated potential effects of climatic factors on age and growth in two populations of Darevskia derjugini (NIKOLSKY, 1898), located at different elevations in Turkey. Although elevation, mean annual temperature, precipitation and humidity were significantly different among the study sites of Savsat (highland population) and Duzkoy (lowland population), the lizards' respective snout-vent-length, age at maturity, longevity and growth rates were not. A strong female-biased sexual size dimorphism was observed in both populations. The growth coefficient was higher in the high-elevation population. The similarities of growth rates and SSD in D. derjugini populations from different elevation sites suggest that longevity and age upon arrival at sexual maturity have stronger effects on these parameters than the ambient thermal conditions.