Altitudinal effects on the life history of the Anatolian lizard (Apathya cappadocica, Werner 1902) from southeastern Anatolia, Turkey

Altitudinal gradients are an important variable in testing the life history traits (e.g., longevity, age at maturity, and body size) of organisms. In this study, the life history traits of the Anatolian lizard Apathya cappadocica were examined from 3 populations from different altitudes (Kilis, 697 m; Sanliurfa, 891 m; Diyarbakir, 1058 m) from southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. Age structure was determined by using skeletochronology. Males in all populations were the larger sex; therefore, the populations showed male biases that were negative by the sexual size dimorphism index. Males in Diyarbakir (high altitude) were also younger than males in the other populations. There were no significant differences between the males and females of all 3 populations in terms of either age or snout-vent length except in the Sanliurfa population, in which males were larger than females. Life history traits of A. cappadocica across altitudinal gradients may be affected by climatic factors, as males from the middle altitude population in Sanliurfa, which inhabits a warmer and more arid environment, tended to be larger than males and females in Kilis and Diyarbakir.