Colonization Dynamics of Two Exotic Geckos (Hemidactylus garnotii and H. mabouia) in Everglades National Park

Meshaka, Walter E.

doi:10.2307/1565258

Cited by 22 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…In particular, exploitative competition has been demonstrated to be a major driver of population declines of native geckos in other areas facing Hemidactylus invasions. It is possible that the shift in diet by Phyllodactylus martini in developed habitats (Figures 2, 3 and 4) overlaps with the diet of H. mabouia, which is largely composed of arthropod prey items in the orders Diptera, Hemiptera and Araneae in urban environments throughout the world (Zamprogno and Teixeira 1998;Meshaka 2000;Bonfiglio et al 2006;Iturriaga and Marrero 2013). Hemidactylus geckos seem to be particularly efficient at harvesting spatially aggregated resources (Petren and Case 1996), and in areas of Curaçao where both H. mabouia and P. martini occur, H. mabouia has been found to be more abundant near light sources that aggregate arthropods (Hughes et al 2015).…”

Section: Feeding Plasticity and Opportunity Along An Urban Gradientmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Dornburg¹,

Lippi

Federman

et al. 2016

Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History

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Predicting the response of endemic species to urbanization has emerged as a fundamental challenge in 21st century conservation biology. The factors that underlie population declines of reptiles are particularly nebulous, as these are often the least understood class of vertebrates in a given community. In this study, we assess correlations between feeding ecology and phenotypic traits of the Lesser Antillean endemic Dutch leaf-toed gecko, Phyllodactylus martini, along an urban gradient in the Caribbean island of Curaçao. There has been a marked decline of this species in developed habitats associated with the invasive tropical house gecko Hemidactylus mabouia. We find a correlation between aspects of locomotor morphology and prey in undeveloped habitats that is absent in developed habitats. Analyses of stomach contents further suggest that Phyllodactylus martini alters primary prey items in developed areas. However, changes in prey promote the overlap in foraging niches between Phyllodactylus martini and Hemidactylus mabouia, suggesting that direct resource competition is contributing to the decline of Phyllodactylus martini. In addition to competitive exclusion, we suggest that the urban extirpation of Phyllodactylus martini could also be attributed to a top-down control on population growth by Hemidactylus mabouia. Colonizations of walls put Phyllodactylus martini in direct contact with Hemidactylus mabouia increasing the chances for predation events, as evidenced by our observation of a predation event on a Phyllodactylus martini juvenile by an adult Hemidactylus mabuoia. In total, our results add to a growing body of literature demonstrating the threat that invasive synanthropic reptiles pose to endemics that might otherwise be able to cope with increased urbanization pressures.

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Section: Feeding Plasticity and Opportunity Along An Urban Gradientmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Dornburg¹,

Lippi

Federman

et al. 2016

Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History

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“…In the 1990s, the tropical house gecko Hemidactylus mabouia was introduced near Miami ( Butterfield et al 1993), and has spread northward as far as Orlando. The two gecko species are ecologically similar and have nearly complete diet overlap and activity patterns, occupying buildings in urban areas (Meshaka 2000). As an all-female parthenogen, H. garnotii should have an ecological advantage by avoiding the costs of sexual reproduction (Maynard Smith 1978).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As an all-female parthenogen, H. garnotii should have an ecological advantage by avoiding the costs of sexual reproduction (Maynard Smith 1978). However, H. mabouia appears to be displacing H. garnotii in Florida (Meshaka 2000;Punzo 2005). Resource competition is the primary factor causing displacement of similar Lepidodactylus house geckos, by Hemidactylus invaders in the Pacific (Petren et al 1993;Case 1996, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also relatively easy to measure house gecko densities with visual surveys (Case et al 1994). Although previous studies have quantified abundances of house geckos and Florida (Meshaka 2000;Meshaka et al 2008), largescale cross-temporal studies have not yet been undertaken.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, based on patterns of limited gene exchange among neighboring buildings, at least on the leading edge of the invasion front (Short and Petren 2011a), we hypothesized that swamping effects of mass dispersal should be minimal, and within-patch processes would dominate. Since the species of Hemidactylus that are found in Florida are very similar in size and ecology (Meshaka 2000), we hypothesized that resource competition would play a role in within-patch dynamics. This hypothesis predicts that we will see density-dependence within patches, such that when the abundance of the invader increases, the abundance of the prior resident will decline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid species displacement during the invasion of Florida by the tropical house gecko Hemidactylus mabouia

Short

Petren

2011

Biol Invasions

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There is considerable interest in understanding how invasive species disperse across landscapes, and how they affect resident species. However, quantifying these processes using mark recapture or manipulative experiments can be time consuming and costly. A different approach is to study density changes across a broader landscape, and take advantage of naturally existing replicate locations that are imperfect, but plentiful. We documented sites of recent colonization and measured density changes in the invasive gecko Hemidactylus mabouia and the prior resident gecko Hemidactylus garnotii in Florida. We surveyed geckos at 398 locations from 19 regional sites distributed across central and southern Florida. We documented changes in abundance through repeated censuses of 56 locations in areas of sympatry between 2001 and 2009. Complete displacement occurred in \7 years at several locations, and overall there was a [10% increase in H. mabouia per year. There was evidence that H. mabouia reaches a higher carrying capacity than H. garnotii, which likely contributes to its competitive dominance. Changes in relative abundance within patches were consistent with a density dependent mechanism of displacement, suggesting the decline of H. garnotii is functionally linked to increases in H. mabouia abundance, which allows us to rule out coincidental factors not directly associated with H. mabouia. However, simulations showed that even highly asymmetric differences in carrying capacity and competitive ability were not sufficient to account for the rapid displacement we observed. We conclude that mechanisms other than resource competition must be at work to drive species displacement in this system.

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Comparing the dietary niche overlap and ecomorphological differences between invasive Hemidactylus mabouia geckos and a native gecko competitor

Lamb

Lippi

Watkins‐Colwell

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Colonization Dynamics of Two Exotic Geckos (Hemidactylus garnotii and H. mabouia) in Everglades National Park

Cited by 22 publications

References 0 publications

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Rapid species displacement during the invasion of Florida by the tropical house gecko Hemidactylus mabouia

Comparing the dietary niche overlap and ecomorphological differences between invasive Hemidactylus mabouia geckos and a native gecko competitor

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