Reproductive traits of the insular population of Podarcis siculus campestris (DE BETTA, 1857) from Krk Island (Croatia)

Autor: Radočaj, Martina, Jelić, Dušan, Karaica, Dean, Kapelj, Sven
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2011
Předmět:
Popis: Today, lizards of the genus Podarcis, are one of the most important representatives of Mediterranean herpetofauna, primarily because of their great variability in islands. We studied a population of Podarcis siculus campestris (DE BETTA, 1857) from Krk Island (W Croatia) and compared the results to other species of Mediterranean Basin. The study was carried out with live lizards that were maintained in terraria under natural conditions of light and temperature, where they produced egg clutches which were incubated until hatching. The results show that mating occurred during April and May, and oviposition period later in June and July. Eggs were incubated for average of 41 days and hatching took place from late July to mid of August. Average female body size (SVL) was 64.62 mm. Out of 10 females, 9 produced egg clutches with average of 3.9 and the maximum of 7 eggs. From altogether 43 eggs, 23 hatched (53%). Female body size characteristics were compared to clutch size, egg and hatching weight and different correlations were explained by different life strategies. The knowledge of reproductive potentials and life traits of the species is significant for further conservation plans and monitoring.
Databáze: OpenAIRE