Feeding ecology of two sympatric geckos in an urban area of Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The diets of two sympatric gecko species, Hemidactylus mabouia and Phyllopezus pollicaris, were studied from an urban area of the Crato municipality, Northeastern Brazil. While the house gecko H. mabouia is an introduced species widely distributed in North, Central, and South America, the Brazilian gecko P. pollicaris is a native species distributed along the great diagonal of open formations of South America. The diets of both species were mainly composed by arthropods, Diptera was the most important item for both species, corroborating others studies with lizards in urban areas. Male and female adults of both H. mabouia and P. pollicaris use similar microhabitats which can explain the high sexual and interspecific trophic niche overlap. In these populations from an urban area of the Crato municipality, the alien H. mabouia seems to have not negatively affected the trophic niche of the native P. pollicaris.