Age Structure and Body Size Variation in Common Toad (Bufo bufo, Linnaeus 1758) from Three Different Altitudes in Turkey

We describe here for the first time the body size and age of the Common Toad ( Bufo bufo ) from high (Trabzon, 1090 m and Kastamonu, 925 m above sea level) and low (Yalova, 65 m above sea level) altitudes in Turkey using skeletochronology. The specimens from Trabzon were significantly smaller and yo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Russian journal of ecology 2019-07, Vol.50 (4), p.397-403
Main Authors: Tuğba Ergül Kalayci, Gül, Serkan, Dursun, Cantekin, Karaoğlu, Handan, Özdemir, Nurhayat
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Age composition
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Body size
Bufo bufo
Chronology
Demographics
Ecology
Environment
Females
Life Sciences
Males
Populations
Sea level
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual maturity
Toads
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Summary:We describe here for the first time the body size and age of the Common Toad ( Bufo bufo ) from high (Trabzon, 1090 m and Kastamonu, 925 m above sea level) and low (Yalova, 65 m above sea level) altitudes in Turkey using skeletochronology. The specimens from Trabzon were significantly smaller and younger than the ones from the Kastamonu and Yalova populations. Age at sexual maturity was three years for females while it varied between two to three years in males in all three populations. We found the females to be significantly larger than males in all three populations. The sexual dimorphism indices (SDI) were biased toward the female populations. Even after accounting for the influence of age, the snout-vent length (SVL) differed significantly among the populations. Age and SVL were closely correlated in the male populations for all the three localities (Yalova, Kastamonu, and Trabzon) and for female individuals in the Trabzon population. In this first report, we reveal the demographic structure of B. bufo from the Anatolia region in Turkey and provide comparative data regarding this species for further discussion and determined that age and body size of Common Toad not differentiated among different altitudes.
ISSN:1067-4136
1608-3334
DOI:10.1134/S106741361904009X