Book Chapter

Presence of Asian House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus across an urban gradient in Brisbane: influence of habitat and potential for impact on native gecko species

Suburban Wildlife Research Group, Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld. 4111, Australia

Search for other works by this author on:

This Site

PubMed

Google Scholar

;

Darryl N. Jones

Suburban Wildlife Research Group, Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld. 4111, Australia

Search for other works by this author on:

This Site

PubMed

Google Scholar

Doi:

https://doi.org/10.7882/FS.2007.009

Published:

2007

The Asian House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus is an internationally significant invasive reptile which has spread rapidly though the Pacific and elsewhere and has been implicated in the decline and extinction of a number of native gecko species. Although present in Darwin for some time, the species has only recently become widespread in the Brisbane region. We investigated the density and distribution of this and two native house-dwelling geckos in urban, suburban and bushland environments within Brisbane. The spatially clumped insect resources associated with external light sources were effectively utilised by both urban and suburban populations of Asian House Geckos, suggesting likely competitive interactions between the species on structures where the species co-existed. At this time, there is no evidence of the introduced species living away from buildings in the Brisbane region.

ABC 2004. ABC WildWatch: The quest for pests. www.abc.net.au/wildwatch/results.htm.

Balcombe, S. R. 1994. The role of interspecific competition in regulating the fish assemblages of Baddaginnie creek. Honours dissertation, La Trobe University, Victoria.

Brown, S., Lebrun, R., Yamasaki, J. and Ishii-Thoene, D. 2002. Indirect competition between a resident unisexual and an invading bisexual gecko. Behaviour 139: 1161-1173.

Bustard, H. R. 1970. Activity cycle of the tropical house gecko Hemidactylus frenatus. Copeia 1: 173-176.

Case, T.J., Bolger, T. and Petren, K. 1994. Invasions and competitive displacement among house geckos in the tropical Pacific. Ecology 75: 464-477.

Cogger, H. G. 1992 Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books, Chatswood, NSW.

Cole, N. C., Jones, C. G. and Harris S. 2005. The need for enemy-free space: The impact of an invasive gecko on island endemics. Biological Conservation 125: 467-474.

Covacevich, J. 2001. Herpetological ‘foreigners’ on Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia. Memoirs of the Qld Museum 46: 408.

Greer, A. E. 1989. The Biology and Evolution of Australian Lizards. Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Limited, Chipping Norton, NSW.

Greer, A. E. 2004. Encyclopedia of Australian Reptiles - Gekkonidae. Australian Museum Online.

Hanley, K. A., Petren, K. and Case T. J. 1998. An experimental investigation of the competitive displacement of a native gecko by an invading gecko: no role for parasites. Oecologia 115: 196-205.

Keim, L. D. 2002. Spatial distribution of the introduced Asian House Gecko across suburban/forest edges. Honours dissertation, University of Queensland., Brisbane.

Marcellini, D. L. 1977. The function of vocal display of the lizards Hemidactylus frenatus (Sauria: Gekkonidae). Animal Behaviour 25: 414-417.

McDonnell, M. J., and Pickett, S. T. A. 1990. Ecosystem structure and function along urban-rural gradients: an unexploited opportunity for ecology. Ecology 71: 1232-1237.

Meshaka, W. E. J., Butterfield, B. P. and Hauge, B. 1994 Hemidactylus frenatus established on the Lower Florida Keys. Herpetological Review 25.

Murphy-Walker, S. and Haley, S. R. 1996. Functional sperm storage duration in female Hemidactylus frenatus (Family Gekkonidae). Herpetologica 52: 365-373.

Newbery, B. S., Dawson, P. and Jones, D. N. 2005. Density of Asian House Geckos Hemidactylus frenatus within suburban Brisbane. The Queensland Naturalist 43: 8-13.

Pernetta, J. C., and Black, D. 1983. Species of gecko ( Lepidodactylus) in the Port Morseby area, with the description of a new species. Journal of Herpetology 17: 121-128.

Petren, K., Bolger, D., and Case, T. J. 1993. Mechanisms in the competitive success of an invading sexual gecko over an asexual native. Science 259: 354-358.

Petren, K., and Case, T. J. 1996. An experimental demonstration of exploitation competition in an ongoing invasion. Ecology 77: 118-132.

Petren, K., and Case, T. J. 1998. Habitat structure determines competition intensity and invasion success in gecko lizards. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 95: 11739-11744.

Pianka, E. R., and Sweet S. S. 2005. Integrative biology of sticky feet in geckos. BioEssays 27: 647-652.

Russell, A. P. 2002. Integrative Functional Morphology of the Gekkotan Adhesive System (Reptilia: Gekkota). Integrative Comparative Biology 42: 1154-1163.

SPSS. 2001. SPSS v11.0. SPSS Inc., Chicago. Il.

Swanson, S. 1990 Lizards of Australia. Angus & Robertson, North Ryde.

Vences, M., Wanke, S. D., Vieites, Branch, W., Glaw F., and Meyer, A. 2004. Natural colonization or introduction? Phylogeographical relationships and morphological differentiation of house geckos ( Hemidactylus) from Madagascar. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 83: 115-130.

Wilson, S., and Swan, G. 2003 A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. New Holland Publishers, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Worthington-Wilmer, J., P. Couper, and A. Amey. 2003. A preliminary investigation of genetic diversity in the invasive asian house gecko ( Hemidactylus frenatus). Pages 17 in Australian Society of Herpetologists, Mary River Park, NT, Australia.

Zar, J. H. 1999. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.

Contents

Data & Figures

References

Other RZS NSW Publications

Pest or Guest: The Zoology of Overabundance

Edited by

Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7882/9780980327212

ISBN electronic:

978-0-9803272-1-2

Publication date:

2007