Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar;306(3):527-536.
doi: 10.1002/ar.25099. Epub 2022 Oct 24.

Variations in age structure and growth in congeners Lacerta viridis and Lacerta media

Abdullah Altunışık  1 , Mehmet Zülfü Yıldız  2 , Bahadır Akman  3 , Naşit İğci  4 , Mert Karış  5 , Mehtap Sömer  6
Affiliations
Free article

Variations in age structure and growth in congeners Lacerta viridis and Lacerta media

Abdullah Altunışık et al. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2023 Mar.
Free article

Abstract

Determining the age of any species allows it to be analyzed from the ontogenetic, demographic, and ecological perspectives. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the age structure of congener species (Lacerta media and Lacerta viridis) with the same ecological niche may vary in different areas. In this context, we applied skeletochronology method to reveal various demographic parameters, such as age structure, longevity, age at sexual maturity, growth rate, survival rate, adult life expectancy, and the relationship between age and body size in the green lizard, L. viridis, and the medium lizard, L. media. In L. media and L. viridis, the maximum lifespan was 10 and 8 years, respectively. The mean age and body size of females were significantly greater than those of males in L. media. However, in the examined L. viridis population, no appreciable variation in mean age or body size was found to exist between the sexes. It was estimated that the green lizards reach maturity at the age of 2 or 3 years. However, the L. media reached sexual maturity approximately 1 year later than the congener. The body size markedly increased with age in males for both studied populations. However, in females, body size positively increased with age only in L. media. The approach of skeletochronology that we utilized in this study to assess age structure makes it simple to gather a variety of time-dependent ecological data for such ectothermic species.

Keywords: age; growth; sexual dimorphism; skeletochronology; survival rate.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Agasyan, A., Tuniyev, B., Cogalniceanu, D., Wilkinson, J., Ananjeva, N., Orlov, N., Lymberakis, P., Crochet, P.A., Disi, A.M.M., Hraoui-Bloquet, S., Sadek, R., Werner, Y., Tok, V., Ugurtas, I. & Sevinç, M. (2009). Lacerta media. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T164749A5922769. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T164749A5922769.en. Accessed on July 24, 2022.
    1. Altunışık, A. (2017). Sexual size and shape dimorphism in the near eastern fire salamander, Salamandra infraimmaculata (Caudata: Salamandridae). Animal Biology, 67, 29-40.
    1. Altunışık, A. (2018). Age, survivorship and life expectancy in near eastern fire salamander, Salamandra infraimmaculata (Caudata: Salamandridae). Russian Journal of Ecology, 49, 166-171.
    1. Altunışık, A., & Eksilmez, H. (2018). Demographic life history traits in a population of a critically endangered species, Darevskia dryada (Darevsky & Tuniyev, 1997). Animal Biology, 68, 27-37.
    1. Altunışık, A., & Eksilmez, H. (2021). Age, growth and survival rate in two populations of Darevskia derjugini (Nikolsky, 1898) from different altitudes (Squamata: Sauria: Lacertidae). Animal Biology, 71(2), 135-149.

LinkOut - more resources