Characteristics of Sleeping Sites and Timing of Departure from Them in a Madagascan Diurnal Gecko, <i>Lygodactylus tolampyae</i>

• IKEUCHI Isami

  Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University

• HASEGAWA Masami

  Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Toho University

• MORI Akira

  Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

• Characteristics of Sleeping Sites and Timing of Departure from Them in a Madagascan Diurnal Gecko, Lygodactylus tolampyae

Abstract

Because animals are vulnerable to predators while sleeping, avoiding predation may be one of the most important factors influencing the selection of sleeping sites by animals. However, a given sleeping site is not always safe from predators consistently because species and foraging tactics often differ between diurnal and nocturnal predators. Thus, animals may have to leave their sleeping sites in response to the changes in predator composition from night to day. We investigated the pattern of space use by a diurnal gecko, Lygodactylus tolampyae, during day and night in a dry forest of Ampijoroa, northwestern Madagascar, where a variety of predators are present. We also video-recorded the behavior of geckos that departed sleeping sites in the early morning. Most geckos perched on tree trunks in the daytime, and slept on the tips of thin branches and leaves at night. Geckos began leaving sleeping sites before dawn when it was still too dark for diurnal predatory birds to forage. When leaving, geckos moved very slowly and intermittently toward tree trunks. We surmise that predator avoidance is the most likely explanation for the sleeping site selection by L. tolampyae and that the behavior employed by the gecko in leaving its sleeping sites minimizes the risk of both nocturnal and diurnal predation.

Journal

• Current Herpetology

  Current Herpetology 31 (2), 107-116, 2012

  The Herpetological Society of Japan

Keywords

• <i>Lygodactylus tolampyae</i>
• Gekkonidae
• Madagascar
• Predator avoidance
• Sleeping site

Details

• CRID: 1390001204714040448
• NII Article ID: 130003324028
• NII Article ID: 40019487153
• NII Book ID: AA12246863
• DOI: 10.5358/hsj.31.107
• ISSN: 18811019
• ISSN: 13455834
• NDL BIB ID: 024088167
• Web Site: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I024088167
• Text Lang: en
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • NDL
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed