Altitude impacts body size but not age in a gecko

Animals' age and size-related life-history traits are influenced by a variety of factors. In connection with climate, the effect of altitude on demographic parameters may differ among different populations of the same species. In the present study, it was analyzed that how body size and longevity of the Asia Minor thin-toed gecko, Mediodactylus heterocercus (Blanford, 1874), vary along with an elevational gradient in Turkey. For this purpose, a total of 138 (52 males, 75 females, and 11 young) M. heterocercus specimens from 11 different populations were analyzed. Populations at inter-mediate altitude had shorter lifespans than in both low and high elevations (marginal environments). Furthermore, the adult life expectancy (ESP), which indicates the expected lifespan of individuals having sexual maturity, was higher in high altitude populations (ESP: 6.59 years) than in intermediate populations (ESP: 5.40 years) and low altitude populations (ESP: 6.01 years). The results of the study suggest that Asia Minor thin-toed geckos' body size increases with altitude, but their age does not.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author