Muammer KURNAZ, Mehmet Kürşat ŞAHİN

Unusual Winter Activity Observations of Two Newt Species (Ommatotriton ophryticus & Triturus ivanbureschi) from the Anatolian Peninsula

Interactions between the internal regulation and the environment drive the biophysiological patterns of amphibians. It is well known phenomenon that newts in the northern hemisphere are tend to have hibernation strategies in winter seasons. However, the winter activity record for newts is quite rare. Therefore, we would like to report two winter activity cases from Anatolia, Turkey via two newt species: The northern banded newt (Ommatotriton ophryticus) from Ordu and Balkan crested newt (Triturus ivanbureschi) from Çanakkale. The striking outcomes of this study are that the Northern Banded Newt demonstrates winter activity from another locality apart from Trabzon, and the Balkan Crested Newt has been observed in winter for the first time in its natural habitat. However, it is more important that to document these winter activities are remarkable to provide valuable preliminary data for interpreting the global climate change dynamics in local cases.

Anadolu Yarımadası’ndan İki Semender Türünün (Ommatotriton ophryticus & Triturus ivanbureschi) Olağandışı Kış Aktivitesi Gözlemleri

İç düzenleme ve çevre arasındaki etkileşimler, amfibilerin biyofizyolojik örüntülerini yönlendirir. Kuzey yarımküredeki semenderlerin kış uykusu stratejisine sahip oldukları iyi bilinen bir olgudur. Bununla birlikte, semenderler için kış dönemi aktivite kaydı oldukça nadirdir. Bu nedenle, bu çalışma ile Ordu’udan Şeritli Karadeniz Semenderi (Ommatotriton ophryticus) ve Çanakkale’den Balkan Pürtüklü Semenderi (Triturus ivanbureschi) ile Anadolu’dan (Türkiye) iki kış aktivitesi kaydı verilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın dikkat çekici çıktıları, Şeritli Karadeniz Semenderi'nin Trabzon dışında başka bir lokaliteden de kış aktivitesi göstermesi ve Pürtüklü Semender'in ise ilk kez doğal ortamlarında kış aktivitesi gözleminin verilmiş olmasıdır. Bununla birlikte, bu tarz kış aktivitelerini belgelemek, lokal vakalar ile küresel iklim değişikliği dinamiklerini yorumlamada değerli ön veriler sağlaması nedeniyle dikkate değerdir.

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