Southern Research Station

Title: Dietary Overview of Hemidactylus turcicus with Possible Implications of Food Partitioning

Author: Saenz, Daniel

Date: 1996

Source: Journal Of Herptology, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 461-466, 1996

Description: A stomach content analysis was conducted on Hemidactylus turcicus, the Mediterranean gecko, from 19 April 1990 to 15 October 1990, on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. Geckos (N = 167) were placed into four size groups based on snout-vent-length (5 29 mm, 30-39 mm, 40-49 mm, and z 50 mm) and three microhabitat groups based on perch height (those occupying perch sites < 1.52 m, 2 1.52 m to 5 3.05 m, and > 3.05 m). Stomach contents were analyzed and sex, size, and microhabitat groups were compared using Schoener's percent overlap index. Volumetrically, the most important prey items taken were Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Isopoda. Geckos of different size groups showed some differences in diet. The greatest difference occurred between the smallest and largest size groups. A significant positive correlation was found between gecko size and prey size (r = 0.24, P = 0.0008). Differences in the diets of geckos inhabiting different microhabitats were very evident. Geckos occupying high perch sites ate more flying prey while geckos at lower perch sites ate more ground-dwelling prey.

Keywords: 

View and Print this Publication (176 KB)

Pristine Version:  An uncaptured or "pristine" version of this publication is available. It has not been subjected to OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and therefore does not have any errors in the text. However it is a larger file size and some people may experience long download times. The "pristine" version of this publication is available here:

View and Print the PRISTINE copy of this Publication (2.9 MB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Saenz, Daniel  1996.  Dietary Overview of Hemidactylus turcicus with Possible Implications of Food Partitioning.   Journal Of Herptology, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 461-466, 1996