Winter Activity of Reptiles in the Anatolian Peninsula

Abstract

The impact of global climate change, particularly the associated temperature increases, on the behavior and fitness of organisms, especially ectothermic species, is a topic of significant concern. This study investigates the winter activities of reptiles in the Anatolian Peninsula, considering the potential effects of climate change on their behavior. The research focuses on the responses of diverse reptile species to sudden changes in winter conditions, highlighting the importance of considering thermal fluctuations during periods of inactivity. Utilizing data gathered from social media platforms and online sources, the study identifies 23 reptile species exhibiting winter activity in the region. The data analysis reveals geographical patterns in the observed species, and the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) technique is employed for clustering analysis. The results underscore the significance of understanding the impact of winter warming on reptiles in temperate zones, presenting valuable insights into the atypical winter behaviors of various species. The findings contribute to the broader field of climate change research, emphasizing the need to incorporate diverse and region-specific responses of reptiles to temperature fluctuations for more accurate predictions and conservation efforts.

Keywords

• Winter warming
• lizard
• snake
• tortoise
• Türkiye

ANADOLU YARIMADASINDAKİ SÜRÜNGENLERİN KIŞ AKTİVİTELERİ

Öz

Küresel iklim değişikliğinin, özellikle buna bağlı sıcaklık artışlarının, organizmaların davranışları ve yaşamsal uygunlukları üzerindeki etkisi, özellikle ektotermik türler için büyük bir endişe kaynağıdır. Bu çalışma, Anadolu Yarımadası'ndaki sürüngenlerin kış aktivitelerini, iklim değişikliğinin davranışları üzerindeki potansiyel etkilerini dikkate alarak incelemektedir. Araştırma, kış koşullarındaki ani değişimlere karşı farklı sürüngen türlerinin tepkilerine odaklanmakta ve hareketsizlik dönemlerinde termal dalgalanmaların önemini vurgulamaktadır. Sosyal medya platformları ve çevrimiçi kaynaklardan elde edilen veriler kullanılarak, bölgede kış aktivitesi gösteren 23 sürüngen türü tespit edilmiştir. Veri analizi, gözlemlenen türlerin coğrafi dağılımındaki desenleri ortaya koymuş ve kümeleme analizi için Aritmetik Ortalama ile Ağırlıksız Grup Yöntemi (UPGMA) kullanılmıştır. Sonuçlar, sürüngenlerin ılıman bölgelerdeki kış ısınmalarından nasıl etkilendiğini anlamanın önemini ortaya koyarak, farklı türlerin alışılmadık kış davranışlarına dair değerli bilgiler sunmaktadır. Bulgular, iklim değişikliği araştırmalarına katkı sağlamakta ve sürüngenlerin sıcaklık dalgalanmalarına verdiği çeşitlilik gösteren ve bölgeye özgü tepkilerin daha doğru tahminler ve koruma çabaları için göz önünde bulundurulması gerektiğini vurgulamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kış ısınması
• kertenkele
• yılan
• kaplumbağa
• Türkiye

Kaynakça

1. C A Deutsch, J J Tewksbury, R B Huey, K S Sheldon, C K Ghalambor, D C Haak, P R Martin, Impacts of climate warming on terrestrial ectotherms across latitude. PNAS, 105: 6668-6672, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0709472105
2. K P Paaijmans, R L Heinig, R A Seliga, J I Blanford, S Blanford, C C Murdock, M B Thomas, Temperature variation makes ectotherms more sensitive to climate change. Global Change Biology, 19: 2373-2380, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12240
3. C J Speights, J P Harmon, B T Barton, Contrasting the potential effects of daytime versus nighttime warming on insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 23: 1-6, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.06. 005
4. F Johansson, G Orizaola, V Nilsson-Örtman, Temperate insects with narrow seasonal activity periods can be as vulnerable to climate change as tropical insect species. Scientific Reports, 10: 8822, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65608-7
5. K E Marshall, K Gotthard, C M Williams, Evolutionary impacts of winter climate change on insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science. 41: 54-62, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2020.06.003
6. R Shine, Life-history evolution in reptiles. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 36: 23-46, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.36.102003.152631
7. R B Huey, L Ma, O Levy, M R Kearney, Three questions about the eco-physiology of overwintering underground. Ecology Letters, 24: 170-185, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13636
8. S Sensoy, M Demircan, Y Ulupinar, I Balta, Climate of Turkey. Turkish state meteorological service, 401: 1-13, 2008.

9. Soil Temperature. Available online: https://soiltemperature.app/ (last accessed on 31 January 2024).
10. J U Van Dyke, Cues for reproduction in squamate reptiles, In: Rheubert JL, Siegel DS, Trauth SE (eds) Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Lizards and Tuatara. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 109-143, 2014.
11. M Kurnaz, B Kutrup, U Bülbül, An Exceptional Activity for Darevskia derjugini (Nikolsky, 1898) from Turkey. Ecologia Balkanica, 8: 91-93, 2016.
12. E Bestion, A Teyssier, M Richard, J Clobert, J Cote, Live fast, die young: experimental evidence of population extinction risk due to climate change. PLoS Biology, 13: e1002281, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002281
13. M M Muñoz, K J Feeley, P H Martin, V R Farallo, The multidimensional (and contrasting) efects of environmental warming on a group of montane tropical lizards. Functional Ecology, 36: 419-431, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13950
14. J B Moss, K J MacLeod, A quantitative synthesis of and predictive framework for studying winter warming effects in reptiles. Oecologia, 200: 259-271, 2022.
15. G R Ultsch, Ecology and physiology of hibernation and overwintering among freshwater fishes, turtles, and snakes. Biological Reviews, 64: 435-515, 1989. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1989. tb00683.x
16. E J Newton, T B Herman, Habitat, movements, and behaviour of overwintering Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) in Nova Scotia. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 87: 299-309, 2009.
17. C N Özgül, D Kurtul, Ç Gül, M Tosunoğlu, Unusual Winter Activity of Some Amphibian and Reptile Species Living in Bozcaada (Çanakkale, Türkiye). Journal of Anatolian Environmental and Animal Sciences, 7: 244-250, 2022.
18. M K Şahin, Unusual mating behavior of Apathya cappadocica in the winter season from southeastern Anatolia. SRLS, 2: 49-53, 2021.
19. H Koç, U Bülbül, B Kutrup, Is the Spinytailed Lizard Darevskia rudis (Bedriaga, 1886) Active All Year?. Ecologia Balkanica, 10: 47-51, 2018.
20. U Bülbül, H Koç, Y Orhan, Y Odabaş, B Kutrup, Early waking from hibernation in some amphibian and reptile species from Gümüşhane Province of Turkey. Sinop Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi, 4: 63-70, 2019.
21. V Vongrej, R Smolinský, E Bulánková, E, J Jandzik, Extraordinary winter activity of the green lizard Lacerta viridis (Laurenti, 1768) in southwestern Slovakia. Herpetozoa, 20: 173, 2008.
22. PA Stone, H M Marinoni, S Laverty, A M Fenwick, Winter Activity in a Northern Population of Mediterranean Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus). Herpetological Conservation Biology, 16: 405-411, 2021.
23. I Mollov, G Georgiev, S Basheva, Is the Kotschy’s Gecko Mediodactylus kotschyi (Steindachner, 1870) (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) active during the winter?. ZooNotes, 84: 1-3, 2015.
24. M Franzen, Zur Winterlichen Aktivität Einiger Echsen in der Südlichen Türkei. Herpetofauna, 8: 6-10, 1986.
25. G Krastev, E Vacheva, B Naumov, Winter activity of the snake-eyed lizard Ophisops elegans (Reptilia: Lacertidae) in the northwesternmost part of its range. Historia naturalis bulgarica, 45: 83-88, 2023.
26. I Buresh, Y Tsonkov, Untersuchungen über die Verbreitung der Reptilien und Amphibien in Bulgarien und auf der Balkanhalbinsel. I Teil: Schildkrötten (Testudinata) und Eidechsen (Sauria). Mitteilungen aus den Königlichen Naturwissenschaftlichen Instituten in Sofia, 6: 150-207, 1933.
27. V Beshkov, Zimnite kvartiri na zaemnovodnite i vlechugite (The winter lodgings of the amphibians and the reptiles). Priroda i znanie, 28: 9-11, 1977.
28. L Rugiero, Winter activity of a Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis) population in central Italy. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 2: 148-152, 1995.
29. V Beshkov, K Nanev, Zemnovodni i vlechugi v Bulgaria (Amphibians and Reptiles in Bulgaria). Sofia-Moscow. Pensoft, 2002. A Westerström, Some notes on the herpetofauna in Western Bulgaria, In Herpetologia Petropolitana, Proceedings of the 12th Ordinary General Meeting of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica, St. Petersburg, 2005; 241-244.
30. N Tzankov, G Popgeorgiev, B Naumov, A Stojanov, Y Kornilev, B Petrov, A Dyugmedzhiev, V Vergilov, R Dragomirova, S Lukanov, A Westerström, Opredelitel na zemnovodnite i vlechugite v Priroden Park Vitosha (Identification guide of the amphibians and reptiles in Vitosha Nature Park). Directorate of Vitosha Nature Park. Bulgaria, 2014.
31. D V Tinkle, N F Hadley, Reproductive effort and winter activity in the viviparous Montane Lizard Sceloporus jarrovi. Copeia, 272-277, 1973.
32. C J Grenot, L Garcin, J Dao, J P Hérold, B Fahys, H Tséré-Pages, How does the European common lizard, Lacerta vivipara, survive the cold of winter?. Comparitive Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 127: 71-80, 2000.
33. General Directorate of Meteorology. Avalaible on: https://www.mgm.gov.tr/. (accessed on 28 November 2023)
34. M Kurnaz, M K Şahin, Unusual Winter Activity Observations of Two Newt Species (Ommatotriton ophryticus & Triturus ivanbureschi) from the Anatolian Peninsula. Uluslararası Tarım ve Yaban Hayatı Bilimleri Dergisi, 7: 337-342, 2021.
35. M A L Zuffi, M Macchia, P Ioalè, Giudici, F. Winter activity in a coastal population of Vipera aspis (Reptilia, Viperidae). Revue d'Écologie, 54: 365-374, 1999.
36. R Duguy, Biologie de la latence hivernale chez Vipera aspis L. Vie et milieu, 311-444, 1963.
37. M Aleksiuk, Reptilian hibernation: evidence of adaptive strategies in Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis. Copeia. 170-178, 1976.
38. S H Girons, Les risques de prédation liés à la reproduction chez un Viperidae ovovivipare, Vipera aspis L., d'après les observations visuelles. Amphibia-Reptilia, 15: 413-416, 1994.
39. J S Jacob, Painter, C.W. Overwinter thermal ecology of Crotalus viridis in the north-central plains of New Mexico. Copeia, 799-805, 1980.
40. B W Grant, Trade‐offs in activity time and physiological performance for thermoregulating desert lizards, Sceloporus merriami. Ecology,71: 2323-2333, 1990.
41. J. M Kaczmarek, M Piasecka, M Kaczmarski, Winter activity of the smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris in Central Europe. The Herpetological Bullletin, 144: 21-22, 2018.
42. A, Altunışık, A case study on earlier activation of the variable toad, Bufotes variabilis (Pallas, 1769). Biological Diversity and Conservation, 12: 38-40, 2019.
43. U Bülbül, H Koç, The unusual winter activity and negative effects of pollution on breeding of Ommatotriton ophryticus (Berthold, 1846) in Turkey. Sinopjns, 5: 77-83, 2020.
44. A Altunışık, Unusual winter activity of Bufo bufo (Anura: Bufonidae). Turkish Journal of Biodiversity, 4: 105-107, 2021.
45. H Özkan, U Bülbül, The Winter Activity of the Endemic Lizard Species, Anatololacerta danfordi (Günther, 1876). Journal of the Institute of Science and Technology, 11: 99-105,2021.