The Superior Colonizing GeckoHemidactylus mabouiaon Curaçao: Conservation Implications for the Native GeckoPhyllodactylus martini

Outcompeted by an invader? Interference and exploitative competition between tropical house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) and Barbados leaf‐toed gecko (Phyllodactylus pulcher) for diurnal refuges in anthropogenic coastal habitats

“…Survey effort was not equal across sites due to occasional access restrictions. We compared our density data with that published on H. mabouia on buildings in Anguilla (Howard et al 2001) and H. mabouia and Phyllodactylus martini on Curaçao (Hughes et al 2015). The average abundance of large, medium and small crevices per m 2 on wall faces (landward and seaward) was measured by counting the number of crevices offering full concealment found within 0.5-m 2 quadrats.…”

“…On small tropical islands with increasing development, anthropogenic structures are likely to have provided a secondary habitat for native geckos, partly due to loss of natural habitat, but also through creation of novel opportunities for foraging, such as the concentration of invertebrate prey around artificial light sources (Petren & Case 1996), diurnal refugia and egg deposition sites (Henderson & Powell 2001). Displacement of native geckos from these secondary habitats following the introduction of Hemidactylus spp., as evidenced by the historical abundance and subsequent decline of the Dutch leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus martini Lidth De Jeude, 1887) around buildings on the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire, Dutch Antilles following the invasion of H. mabouia (Powell et al 2011;Hughes et al 2015), emphasizes the great importance of conserving natural habitats for native species on invaded islands (Hughes et al 2015).…”

Range extension and distribution of the invasive Moreau’s Tropical House Gecko, Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) (Squamata: Gekkonidae), in Suriname

“…H. mabouia is generally associated with anthropogenic structures which may limit its impact on native species. However, H. mabouia has negatively impacted a number of native species irrespective of ecotype (Rödder et al 2008, Hughes et al 2015 warranting further investigation of this phenomenon. Additional surveys of other interior indigenous villages will help elucidate the current distribution of H. mabouia in Suriname.…”

“…Moreau's Tropical House Gecko, Hemidactlyus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818), is one of the most cosmopolitan introduced species of reptiles (Rödder et al 2008;Fierro-Cabo and Rentfro 2014;Hughes et al 2015), found in Africa, Madagascar, Ascension Island, the Antilles, Central and South America (Avila-Pires 1995; Baldo et al 2008;Rödder et al 2008 andHughes et al 2015), and North America in the states of Florida (Meshaka et al 2004) and Texas (Fierro-Cabo and Rentfro 2014). Hemidactylus mabouia are thought to have reached South America from Africa by natural transmarine colonization or through anthropogenic means within the last 500 years (Kluge 1969;Carranza and Arnold 2006).…”

First record of the invasive Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) (Squamata, Gekkonidae), in the dry Chaco, Argentina

“…The invasive Hemidactylus mabouia is one of the most widespread introduced species of reptiles (Hughes et al 2015). It inhabits in many countries of Africa (including several Seychelles islands), the Caribbean; in the state of Florida (USA), on Madeira (Portugal), Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, and Panama), and South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and Uruguay) (Uetz et al 2017).…”