STUDY RESULTS FROM YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO CONSERVATION RESEARCH
Life Science Weekly
September 30, 2008
"The turtles of the Caucasus are poorly studied, and basic data
on their geographic distribution in some Caucasian regions are
poorly collated, hard to access, or entirely lacking. We present a
comprehensive review of turtle localities in such a region, Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh), based on literature records,
personal observations, and museum specimens," scientists in Yerevan,
Armenia report (see also Conservation Research).
"The compiled data for the 3 native species (Emys orbicularis,
Mauremys caspica, and Testudo graeca) show that their distributions
in this region are restricted to 3 areas of low elevation. In the
northeast, turtles can be found in the Kura River drainage. In the
south and west, turtles can be found in the Arax River drainage. The
distributions of species within these areas vary, with E. orbicularis
being the most restricted by elevation. We note that the 3 regions here
form part of an important transect from the interior Arax drainage
(in the Ararat region of western Armenia) to near its confluence
with the Kura drainage (in southern Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh)
to the Kura drainage sensu stricto (in northeast Armenia)," wrote
M. Arakelyan and colleagues, Yerevan State University.
The researchers concluded: "Future studies of turtles in these
areas will play an important role in understanding the historical
biogeography of Caucasian turtles."
Arakelyan and colleagues published their study in Chelonian
Conservation and Biology (The geographic distribution of turtles
in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh). Chelonian
Conservation and Biology, 2008;7(1):70-77).
For more information, contact M. Arakelyan, Yerevan State University,
Dept. of Biology, Alek Manukyan 1, Yerevan 375025, Armenia.
Publisher contact information for the journal Chelonian Conservation
and Biology is: Chelonian Research Foundation, 168 Goodrich St.,
Lunenburg, MA, USA.