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During the nesting period in 2000 and 2001 on Patara beach, total emergence and non-nesting emergence of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), nest distribution, and nest distance from the sea were recorded . The main nesting seasons for sea turtles (family Cheloniidae) were during June and July. Loggerhead turtles comprised the majority of sea turtle emergence records; only two green turtle (Chelonia mydas) emergences were recorded. The small nesting population (52 and 53 nests in 2000 and 2001, respectively) of sea turtles on Patara beach was due to low hatching success resulting from a rise in seawater levels, owing to beach erosion, and the subsequent inundation of most nests. The temperatures of four nests and sand at different distances from the sea were measured with electronic temperature loggers, which recorded mean nest temperatures of 28.8-30.7°C, with the mean temperature in the middle third of the incubation period from 28.5 to 31.0°C. The mean temperatures, incubation periods, temperature during the middle third of the incubation period, and percentage of hatchling sexes were evaluated with respect to sand and nest temperatures. The results showed a female-dominated sex ratio, which was probably the result of predation of nests far from the sea and the seawater inundation of nests close to the sea, as the sand temperature was different at sites close and far from the sea.Résumé : Durant la période de nidification en 2000 et en 2001 sur la plage de Patara, nous avons déterminé les émer-gences totales des caouanes (Caretta caretta), les émergences des tortues loin des nids, la répartition des nids sur la plage, ainsi que les distances des nids à la mer. Les périodes principales de nidification des tortues marines (Cheloniidae) ont lieu en juin et en juillet. La majorité des tortues qui ont émergé étaient des caouanes; seules deux émergen-ces de tortues vertes (Chelonia mydas) ont été observées. La petite taille de la population nidificatrice (52 et 53 nids respectivement en 2000 et 2001) de tortues marines sur la plage de Patara semble s'expliquer par le faible succès de l'éclosion à cause de la montée du niveau de la mer provoquée par l'érosion de la plage et à cause de l'inondation subséquente de la plupart des nids. La température moyenne du sable et celle de quatre nids situés à des distances différentes de la mer, mesurées à l'aide de thermomètres électroniques enregistreurs, varient de 28,8 à 30,7°C et la température moyenne du tiers médian de la période d'incubation, de 28,5 à 31,0°C. Les températures moyennes, la durée des périodes d'incubation, les températures durant le tiers médian de la période d'incubation et la proportion des mâles et des femelles chez les nouveau-nés ont été évaluées en fonction des températures du sable et des nids. Les rapports mâles:femelles sont dominés par les femelles. Ces rapports sont sans doute affectés par la prédation des nids aux sites éloignés de la mer et par l'inondation des nids par l'eau de mer aux sites proches de la mer, puisque les températures du sa...

The fate of species integrity upon natural hybridization depends on the interaction between selection and dispersal. The relative significance of these processes may be studied in the initial phase of contact before selection and gene flow reach equilibrium. Here we study a hybrid zone of two salamander species, Lyciasalamandra antalyana and Lyciasalamandra billae, at the initial phase of hybridization. We quantify the degree and mode of introgression using nuclear and mtDNA markers. The hybrid zone can be characterized as an abrupt transition zone, the central hybrid zone being only c. 400 m, but introgressed genes were traced up to 3 km. Introgression was traced in both sexes but gene flow may be slightly male‐biased. Indirect evidence suggests that hybrid males are less viable than females. Introgression occurred at two levels: (1) locus‐specific selection led to different allelic introgression patterns independent of species, while (2) asymmetrical species‐level introgression occurred predominately from L. antalyana to L. billae due to range expansion of the former. This indicates that foreign genes can be incorporated into novel genomic environments, which in turn may contribute to the great diversity of morphological variants in Lyciasalamandra.

In this study several soil samples were collected from the Büyükeceli district where Turkey's first nuclear power plant will be built and radioactivity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K and (137)Cs were determined by gamma spectrometry using a high-purity germanium detector. The measured activity concentrations in soil samples ranged from 9.8 ± 0.7 to 258.6 ± 15.8, 11.7 ± 0.9 to 85.6 ± 5.0, 173.8 ± 2.1 to 1949.5 ± 14.7 and 0.4 ± 0.1 to 72.2 ± 2.2 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K and (137)Cs, respectively. Findings are in good agreement with the published results of neighbouring areas. The absorbed gamma dose rate (D) in air and the annual effective dose of soil samples were calculated to be 80.2 nGy h(-1) and 98.3 mSv y(-1), respectively. The results show that the radiation hazard in the Büyükeceli district is insignificant. The data presented in this study would be very useful to determine the future effects of the nuclear power plant to the environment.

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