Dinçer Ayaz

Mitochondrial phylogeography of European pond turtles ( Emys orbicularis , Emys trinacris ) – an update

Based on more than 1100 samples of Emys orbicularis and E. trinacris, data on mtDNA diversity and distribution of haplotypes are provided, including for the first time data for Armenia, Georgia, Iran, and the Volga, Ural and Turgay River Basins of Russia and Kazakhstan. Eight mitochondrial lineages comprising 51 individual haplotypes occur in E. orbicularis, a ninth lineage with five haplotypes corresponds to E. trinacris. A high diversity of distinct mtDNA lineages and haplotypes occurs in the south, in the regions where putative glacial refuges were located. More northerly parts of Europe and adjacent Asia, which were recolonized by E. orbicularis in the Holocene, display distinctly less variation; most refuges did not contribute to northern recolonizations. Also in certain southern European lineages a decrease of haplotype diversity is observed with increasing latitude, suggestive of Holocene range expansions on a smaller scale.

Go east: phylogeographies of Mauremys caspica and M. rivulata– discordance of morphology, mitochondrial and nuclear genomic markers and rare hybridization

In recent years many cases of hybridization and introgression became known for chelonians, requiring a better understanding of their speciation mechanisms. Phylogeographic investigations offer basic data for this challenge. We use the sister species Mauremys caspica and M. rivulata, the most abundant terrapins in the Near and Middle East and South‐east Europe, as model. Their phylogeographies provide evidence that speciation of chelonians fits the allopatric speciation model, with both species being in the parapatric phase of speciation, and that intrinsic isolation mechanisms are developed during speciation. Hybridization between M. caspica and M. rivulata is very rare, suggesting that the increasing numbers of hybrids in other species are caused by human impact on environment (breakdown of ecological isolation). Genetic differentiation within M. caspica and M. rivulata resembles the paradigm of southern genetic richness and northern purity of European biota. However, in west Asia this pattern is likely to reflect dispersal and vicariance events older than the Holocene. For M. caspica three distinct Pleistocene refuges are postulated (Central Anatolia, south coast of Caspian Sea, Gulf of Persia). Morphologically defined subspecies within M. caspica are not supported by genetic data. This is one of the few studies available about the phylogeography of west and central Asian species.

New data on facultative paedomorphism of the smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris, in Western Anatolia, Turkey

During a monitoring survey of the amphibians and reptiles in Lake Sülüklü (Manisa, Turkey) in the spring of 2010, we found that the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) population was composed of partially paedomorphic individuals. During the study, 146 aquatic individuals (56 males, 90 females) were captured and marked. Of these individuals, 27 (seven males, 20 females) were paedomorphic. The population size in Lake Sülüklü was calculated as 305 (SE = 20.72, range = 270–351). According to these data, it was calculated that about 18.5% (56 individuals) of the population consisted of paedomorphic individuals.

Epizoic Freshwater Algae on Emys orbicularis (Testudinata: Emydidae) from the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey

ABSTRACT We surveyed the epizoic algae growing on Emys orbicularis from several sites in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey during the nesting season (May-August) of 2005. Fifty-three algae species were found on carapaces of thirty-five E. Orbicularis, with considerable variation in the algal communities from different sites.

Morphological characterisation of a population of Rana ridibunda Pallas, 1771 in the Dalaman area, Turkey

Abstract 91 specimens of the Marsh or Lake Frog Rana ridibunda from the vicinity of Kapıkargın Village (Dalaman, Muğla province, Turkey) were investigated morphometrically and from the viewpoint of colouration and colour pattern. While the specimens were found to be identical morphometrically with Rana ridibunda, the venter of 87% of the specimens was more or less covered with fine black or yellow warts, which is not known from elsewhere in Turkey.

A comparative behavioural and structural study of rain-harvesting and non-rain-harvesting agamid lizards of Anatolia (Turkey)

Abstract Some lizards living in arid or semi-arid habitats have developed a specific adaptation to capture and drink water. This adaptation, rain-harvesting, occurs when water is carried through interscalar channels between integumental scales to the mouth, the point where water is ingested. We investigated whether this special water-drinking adaptation is utilized in four species of agamid lizards living in Turkey Stellagama stellio (Linnaeus, 1758), Paralaudakia caucasica (Eichwald, 1831), Trapelus lessonae (De Filippi, 1865) and Phrynocephalus horvathi (Mehely, 1894). Using histological and scanning electron microscopic methods, we found that P. horvathi has the integumental adaptations to rain-harvest water; however, S. stellio and P. caucasica do not. Determination of the rain-harvesting condition in T. lessonae will require further research. In all four species, honeycomb-shaped micro-structures cover dorsal scale surfaces, and in P. horvathi, a complex capillary system involving scale hinges was documented. In experiments with captive animals, which included putting dyed water drops onto the integument, we found that even the species that do not have ability to rain-harvest can collect water on their integuments. But in these species the water does not move into their mouth. Our new findings of rain-harvesting in P. horvathi are compared with published data to show that this specific adaptation has evolved convergently with other agamids and with iguanids. Also water flow within the scale hinge system of P. horvathi is directional, towards the head.

A new record of Macrovipera lebetina obtusa (Viperidae) from south-eastern Anatolia

Abstract The viper Macrovipera lebetina obtusa is recorded from Nusaybin, Mardin province of Turkey. Information on morphological features and the biology of this subspecies is given.

Food composition of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) in Lake Sülüklü (Western Anatolia, Turkey)

We examined the seasonal changes in the food composition of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis in Lake Sülüklü (Manisa, Turkey) during spring and summer 2010. The stomach contents of 110 (40 ♂♂, 62 ♀♀, eight juveniles) E. orbicularis individuals were analyzed, and 461 prey items were found. Gastropods (2.2%), earthworms (0.4%), insects (67.2%), fishes (6.9%), amphibians (15.0%), and plant material (8.2%) constituted the food of the species. Food consisted primarily of insects and other invertebrates during the breeding season and of vertebrate and plant material (especially seeds and roots) during the post-breeding season. Based on these results, the European pond turtle is a generalist opportunistic omnivore whose diet is most strongly influenced by prey availability.

Population estimate and body size of European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) from Pazarağaç (Afyonkarahisar/Turkey)

Data on population size, adult sex ratio, body size and mass are provided for a population of the turtle Emys orbicularis near Pazarağaç (Afyonkarahisar/Turkey). Using the mark-recapture method (triple catch), a population size of 664 turtles was estimated (95% confidence interval, range 332–996), corresponding to a density of 83 turtles per hectare (range 41.5–124.5). The adult sex-ratio was significantly skewed in favor of males (2.02 males: 1 female; P < 0.001). Almost all recorded specimens were adult (98.1%). Mean straight carapace length (SCL) and body mass (BM) of adult turtles were: SCL = 128.65 mm, BM = 345 g for males (n = 168) and SCL = 135.37 mm, BM = 463 g for females (n = 83).

Unexpected hybridization patterns in Near Eastern terrapins (Mauremys caspica, M. rivulata) indicate ancient gene flow across the Fertile Crescent

Recent studies indicate that hybridization in animals occurs more frequently than previously thought and that it may play an important evolutionary role. Chelonians are capable of extensive hybridization, raising the question how chelonian species evolve and maintain genetic integrity despite hybridization. Here, we use two sister species with parapatric distribution, Mauremys caspica and M. rivulata, as our model. These taxa are estimated to have diverged some 5.3–7.0 million years ago. Using rangewide sampling and 13 unlinked polymorphic microsatellite markers, five nuclear loci and one mitochondrial gene, we show that hybridization is rare along the contact zone of the two species in Turkey. However, we discovered an unexpected hybrid swarm in the southern Levant that has been hitherto identified with M. rivulata. This hybrid swarm is separated from the inland species M. caspica by a 700‐km‐wide distribution gap corresponding to the Syrian Desert. Ecological palaeomodelling suggests that during more humid climatic episodes in the Last Glacial Maximum and mid‐Holocene, the current contact zone extended into the southern Levant, facilitating the establishment of the now isolated hybrid swarm. Our results support that there is not necessarily a general hybridization pattern in a given species couple and that the extent of gene flow may differ considerably in different parts of the distribution range. Moreover, our results highlight that studies on hybridization should not focus only on extant contact and hybrid zones, but should use rangewide sampling to detect signals of ancient hybridization that might otherwise be missed.