What can a jet-setting gecko teach us about invasive species?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-08-04 09:01

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It may be small, but the African house gecko certainly is mighty, using its powers of invasion to spread across the world, even to Australia. International researchers have analysed gene samples from more than 120 locations across Africa, Madagascar and the Neotropics to get an understanding of the evolution of the African house gecko and how it spread so well. They discovered one particular type of gecko, Hemidactylus mabouia sensu stricto, is responsible for much of the spread outside the gecko's natural habitat, likely moving across the world as a result of slave trade. The researchers say understanding how and why an invasive species succeeds can help better control it.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

The gecko that travelled the world! Invasive species are among the most important threats to biodiversity. New research shows the African House gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia), one of the most invasive reptiles globally, is a complex including up to 20 species in Africa-Madagascar. Hemidactylus mabouia has colonized the New World multiple times, and it likely moved with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The authors sampled across Africa and the New World, using multiple genes to reconstruct evolutionary relationships within this group. This research highlights the importance of taxonomy in invasive species management and Zambezia as a hotspot of diversity within the group.

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Journal/
conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Villanova University, USA

Funder: This work was supported by the by US National Science Foundation (grants EF 1241885, subaward 13-0632 and DEB 1556255) to A.M.B.

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