1. Body size and age structure of the endangered Clark’s lizard (Darevskia clarkorum) populations from two different altitudes in Turkey
- Author
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Muammer Kurnaz, Bilal Kutrup, Halime Koç, Ufuk Bülbül, and Ali İhsan Eroğlu
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,education.field_of_study ,biology ,Ecology ,Lizard ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Population ,010607 zoology ,Longevity ,Endangered species ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,biology.animal ,Darevskia clarkorum ,parasitic diseases ,Sexual maturity ,Skeletochronology ,Animal Science and Zoology ,education ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Maximum life span ,media_common ,Demography - Abstract
We investigated age structure, body size and longevity in two breeding populations ofDarevskia clarkoruminhabiting altitudes ranging from 450 m a.s.l. (Kamilet) to 2250 m a.s.l. (Başyayla) in Turkey by skeletochronology performed on the phalanges. The mean age was found to be 6 years in the Kamilet population and 7 years in the Başyayla population. The maximum life span was 10 years in the lowland population while it was 12 years in the highland population. Age at sexual maturity of both males and females was 1-2 years in the lowland population while it was 2-3 for both sexes in the highland population. Both age and SVL of specimens from the Kamilet population were significantly different between the sexes while age and SVL did not differ significantly between the sexes in Başyayla population. As a conclusion, we observed that the mean age, longevity and age at maturity were increased by altitude while there was a decrease based on the mean SVL in the highland population ofD. clarkorum. Our data on body size, longevity and age at sexual maturity may contribute to conservation efforts for this endangered species.
- Published
- 2016
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