Age Determination in Two Populations of the Snake-eyed Lizard (Ophisops elegans) (Sauria: Lacertidae) at Different Altitudes

Year 2017, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 11 - 14, 03.04.2017

Abdullah Altunışık , Tuğba Ergül Kalaycı , İbrahim Uysal , Murat Tosunoğlu , Nurhayat Özdemir

https://doi.org/10.35229/jaes.288008

Cited By: 1

Abstract

The life history characteristics of individuals may vary depending on the altitude gradient. In this study, some life history traits such as age structure, age at sexual maturity, lifespan, body size, head length and head width were tested for two different altitude populations of Ophisops elegans. The results suggest that the individuals from the high altitude (Sivas, 1595 m) population have a higher mean body size and longer and wider head structure than the low-altitude (Çanakkale, 7 m) population. Although, the mean age of the highland population was higher than the lowland population, this case was not found statistically significant. In this study, both females and males were estimated to reach sexual maturity at an average of 3 years. The expected positive correlation between age and body size was recorded for only females of the Çanakkale population.

Keywords

Lizard, age, Ophisops elegans

Tarla kertenkelesi (Ophisops elegans) (Sauria: Lacertidae)‘nin farklı rakımlarda yaşayan iki populasyonunda yaş tayini

Abstract

Bireylerin yaşam öyküsü özellikleri yükseklik gradientine bağlı olarak değişkenlik gösterebilir. Bu çalışmada yaş yapısı, eşeysel olgunluk yaşı, yaşam ömrü, vücut boyu, baş uzunluğu ve baş genişliği gibi bazı yaşam öyküsü özellikleri Ophisops elegans’ın iki farklı rakıma sahip populasyonu için test edilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, yüksek rakımlı (1595 m) Sivas populasyonundaki bireylerin, düşük rakımlı (7 m) Çanakkale populasyonuna oranla daha yüksek boy ortalaması ve daha uzun ve geniş baş yapısına sahip olduklarını göstermiştir. Her ne kadar yüksek rakımdaki populasyonun yaş ortalaması, düşük rakımdaki populasyona kıyasla daha yüksek çıkmış olsa da, bu durum istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmamıştır. Bu çalışmada her iki populasyona ait dişi ve erkek bireylerin ortalama 3 yılda eşeysel erginliğe ulaştıkları tahmin edilmiştir.  Yaş ile boy arasında beklenen pozitif ilişki sadece Çanakkale populasyonunun dişi bireyleri için kaydedilmiştir. 

Keywords

tarla kertenkelesi, Ophisops elegans, yaş tayini

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