The life-history traits in a breeding population of <em>Darevskia valentini</em> from Turkey

Abstract

We investigated the age structure, body size, longevity and growth in a breeding population of Darevskia valentini inhabiting highland altitude in Balahor, Turkey. According to the skeletochronological analysis (n= 25; 14 ♂♂, 11 ♀♀), the estimated ages ranged from 3 to 9 years (from 4 to 7 in males and from 3 to 9 in females). The maximum life span was 7 years in males and 9 years in females. The age at maturity was found to be 3 years in both sexes. The mean age and SVL were not statistically different between sexes. For both sexes, we found a significant positive correlation between body size and the number of LAGs. The growth coefficient (k) was lower in females (0.30) than in males (0.76) while asymptotic SVL was higher in females (70.06) than in males (60.55). Growth rates were found to be significantly different between both sexes (females grew faster than males). However, a low level of female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) was observed in the population.