Vol. 75 (4) 2023

ARTICLES

Life History Traits in a Turkish Population of the Agile Frog Rana dalmatina Fitzinger in Bonaparte, 1839 (Anura: Ranidae)

Mustafa Albayrak, Ufuk Bülbül*, Engin Zaman & Halime Koç-Gür

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*Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Türkiye; E-mail: ufukb@ktu.edu.tr

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb75.4.002694

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Abstract
Using skeletochronology, we assessed the relationships of age and body size (SVL) in individuals from a population of the agile frog Rana dalmatina near the village of Özyurt, North-western Türkiye. The mean age and SVL of adult frogs were 4.50 ± 0.38 years and 61.54 ± 1.31 mm (6.46 ± 0.33 years and 67.86 ± 1.00 mm in females and 3.00 ± 2.71 years and 56.70 ± 1.26 mm in males, respectively). Intersexual differences in body size were female-biased (SSD = 0.196) while the age ranged between 4-8 years in females and 2-6 years in males. There was a positive correlation between body size and age (i.e., larger frogs were older) in both female and male individuals of this species.

Key words
mean age; body size; age at maturity; longevity; skeletochronology

How to Cite
Albayrak M., Bülbül U, Zaman E. & Koç-Gür H. 2023. Life History Traits in a Turkish Population of the Agile Frog Rana dalmatina Fitzinger in Bonaparte, 1839 (Anura: Ranidae). Acta zoologica bulgarica 75 (4) 497-503.

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