Taxonomic Relationships among Turkish Water Frogs as Revealed by Phylogenetic Analyses using mtDNA Gene Sequences

We assessed taxonomic relationships among Turkish water frogs through estimation of phylogenetic relationships among 62 adult specimens from 44 distinct populations inhabiting seven main geographical regions of Turkey using 2897 bp sequences of the mitochondrial Cytb, 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes with equally-weighted parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian methods of inference. Monophyletic clade (Clade A) of the northwesternmost (Thrace) samples is identified as Pelophylax ridibundus. The other clade (Clade B) consisted of two monophyletic subclades. One of these contains specimens from southernmost populations that are regarded as an unnamed species. The other subclade consists of two lineages, of which one corresponds to P. caralitanus and another to P. bedriagae. Taxonomic relationships of these two species are discussed and recognition of P. caralitanus as a subspecies of P. bedriagae is proposed

Southernmost locality for Endangered lizard, Darevskia clarkorum (Lacertidae, Squamata) from eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey

Darevskia clarkorum is an endangered species distributed within a restricted area in Georgia and Turkey. The study has presented a new locality in the Province of Gümüşhane for the species. As the new locality is about 40 km away from the known distribution area, it is important in terms of defining the southernmost distribution area and limited locality of species. The record of the new locality of Darevskia clarkorum reveals that the species also occurs outside coastal areas. Thus, the endangered species begins to inhabit inland provinces, too

Lacerta agilis (Squamata: Lacertidae)’in Türkiye’deki yeni lokalite kaydı

In this study, it was given the locality record of the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) from Yeşilköy Village, Pazar District of Rize Province of Turkey. This new record revealed the second locality for L. agilis from the eastern Black Sea coast of Anatolia. The metric and meristic features of the adult, subadult and juvenile specimens were compared to the features of the specimens of the species, L. agilis in the literature.Bu çalışmada, Kars kertenkelesi (Lacerta agilis)’in Türkiye’de Rize ilinin Pazar ilçesinin Yeşilköy köyünden lokalite kaydı verilmiştir. Bu yeni kayıt L. agilis türünün Anadolu’nun Doğu Karadeniz kısmındaki ikinci lokalite kaydını oluşturmaktadır. Ergin, yarı ergin ve juvenile bireylerin metric ve meristic özellikleri literatürde L. agilis türünün bireylerinin özellikleriyle karşılaştırılmıştır

The life-history traits in a breeding population of Darevskia valentini from Turkey

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

Alburnoides manyasensis (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae), a new species of cyprinid fish from Manyas Lake basin, Turkey

GUCLU, Salim Serkan/0000-0002-9256-449X; Kaya, Cuneyt/0000-0002-4531-798XWOS: 000315765700006PubMed: 23794819Alburnoides manyasensis, sp. n., is described from the Koca Stream (Lake Manyas drainage, Marmara Sea basin) in Anatolia. It is distinguished from all species of Alburnoides in Turkey and adjacent regions, Alburnoides tzanevi (Rezovska [Rezve], Istranca and Terkos streams in the western Black Sea drainage), Alburnoides cf. smyrnae (Banaz Stream, a drainage of Buyuk Menderes River, Aegean Sea basin), Alburnoides fasciatus (streams and rivers in the eastern Black Sea drainage) and Alburnoides eichwaldii (Kura and Aras rivers [a drainage of Kura River], Caspian Sea basin) by a combination of the following characters (none unique to the species): marked hump at nape, especially in specimens larger than 60 mm SL; partly developed ventral keel between pelvic fin and anal fin, scaleless 1/2 to 2/3 its length; body depth at dorsalfin origin 29-32% SL; caudal peduncle depth 11-12% SL; 45-52+ 2-3 lateral-line scales; 9-12 scale rows between lateral line and dorsal-fin origin; 4-5 scale rows between lateral line and anal-fin origin, 101/2-121/2 branched anal-fin rays; 40-42 total vertebrae

Trabzon' un bazı hastanelerindeki hamamböceklerinin istilası hakkında bir çalışma

Bu çalışmada, Trabzon'daki 6 değişik hastanedeki hamamböceği türleri ve populasyon yoğunlukları araştırılmıştır, l Ekim 1999-30 Ocak 2000 tarihleri arasında toplam 4756 (692 99, 652 dd ve 3412 nimf) hamamböceği yakalanmıştır. Araştırma yapılan hastanelerde 3 türün yaşadığı bulunmuştur. Bu türler arasında Blatella germanica % 98.25 ile en baskın olup diğer iki türden Blatella orientalis % 1.12 ve Periplaneta americana ise % 0.63 gibi düşük oranda yaşadığı bulunmuştur. Alman hamamböceği olarak adlandırılan Blatella germanica hastanelerin her yerinde bulunmasına rağmen diğer iki tür (Blatta orientalis Periplaneta americana) sadece hastanelerinin mutfaklarında yakalanmıştır. Mutfaklardaki Alman hamamböceğinin yoğunluğunu incelenen diğer yerlerle karşılaştırdığımızda 10 metre kareye düşen birey sayısının (102.23) ve istila oranının yüksek olduğu (% 83.61) belirlenmiştir. Bu türün mutfaklardaki populasyon yoğunluğunun ista-tistik! acıdan önemli derecede farklı olduğu görülmüştür (one-way ANOVA: F 54.17, P 0.01). Alman hamam böceğinin birçok hayat evresi yakalanmasına rağmen, nimflerin en fazla istila oranına (% 62.50-86.89) sahip olduğu gözlenmiş, bunlarında büyük bir çoğunluğunun (% 67.28-88.26) genç nimf evresinde olduğu belirlenmiştir. Diğer taraftan, genç nimflerin en fazla (% 88.26) mutfaklarda bulunduğu görülmüştür. Ayrıca, B. germanicanm populasyon yoğunluğunun sıcaklık ve nemle ilişkisini göstermek amacıyla incelenen yerlerde yapılan ölçümlerde nem ile Alman hamam böceği yoğunluğu arasında önemli bir ilişki bulunmuştur (R 0.65, P 0.01), fakat populasyon yoğunluğunun sıcaklıkla bir ilişkisi bulunamamıştır (R -0.2, P0.01). Sonuçta, B. germanicanm populasyon yoğunluğunun % 45'in üzerindeki nem değerlerinde belirgin olarak artığı, daha düşük değerlerde (% 39-45) azaldığı görülmüştür.The distribution and abundance of cockroaches were investigated in six hospitals in Trabzon. A total of 4756 (692 99, 652 do and 3412 nymphs) cockroaches were caught between 1st October 1999 and 30th January 2000. It was found that three cockroach species were present in hospitals. Of these, Blattella germanica was the predominant species with 98.25%, followed by Blatta orientalis (1.12%) and Periplaneta americana (0.63%). Although the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, was found in all areas of the hospitals, Blatta orientalis and Periplaneta americana were only caught in kitchens. When comparing the population density of German cockroaches in different places chosen for this study, it was clear that the number of this cockroach per 10 mz (102.23) and infestation rate (83.61 %) were higher in kitchens than in other places. It was seen that the population density of this species in kitchens is significantly different from that in other places (one-way ANOVA: F 54.17, P 0.01). In conclusion, the population density of B. germanica increased over 45% humidity, but did not at lower humidity levels (39-45%)

Patterns of distribution of tree frogs in Turkey based on molecular data

Despite previous work on the phylogeny of Palearctic Hyla, several problems still exist regarding systematics of Hyla in Turkey. The systematics of tree frogs (Hyla orientalis and Hyla savignyi) in Turkey was studied using combined mitochondrial genes (12S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome b) and a nuclear gene (H3), and sampling a total of 102 individuals from 51 localities. We find that Hyla orientalis is represented by a single lineage, whereas Hyla savignyi was divided into two lineages by the mitochondrial genes, but not the nuclear gene. We also confirm that Hyla arborea schelkownikowi is a junior synonym of Hyla orientalis. © 2012 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden

A skeletochronological study of age, growth and longevity of Rana macrocnemis populations from four locations at different altitudes in Turkey

We examined life-history traits such as population age structure, growth and longevity of Iranian Long-Legged frogs (Rana macrocnemis) from 4 different locations at different altitudes in Turkey by skeletochronology performed on the phalanges. The maximum lifespan was 5 years in Maçka (350 m a.s.l.), 6 years in Hidirnebi (1430 m a.s.l.), 8 years in Sarikamiş (2276 m a.s.l.) and 10 years in Ovit (2850 m a.s.l.). Age at sexual maturity of both males and females was 2-3 years in the Maçka, Hidirnebi and Sarikamiş populations, while 3-4 years for males and 3-5 years for females in the Ovit population. In all populations, males and females did not exhibit any differences in terms of mean age and SVL except for Sarikamis where the males were significantly larger than the females. A positive correlation was observed between age and SVL for both sexes in all populations except for the males of the Maçka population. © 2011 BRILL

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

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