Invasive species are of substantial concern because they may threaten ecosystem stability and biodiversity worldwide. Not surprisingly, studies examining the drivers of biological invasion have increased in number over the past few decades in an effort to curtail invasive species success by way of informing management decisions. The common house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, has successfully invaded the Pacific islands where it appears to thrive in and dominate non-natural habitats offering high food availability (i.e., well-lit human dwellings) compared to native geckos. Previous work demonstrated that H. frenatus can outperform the native gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris, in terms of maximal sprint speed on relatively simple planar surfaces (e.g., building walls). Lepidodactylus lugubris and other native geckos, however, may have superior locomotor performance in three-dimensional, structurally complex habitats. Here we compared the locomotor behaviour and exertion capacity of the native gecko, Gehyra oceanica, and the invasive gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, on the island of Mo’orea, French Polynesia, on fabricated structures simulating structurally complex substrates. We found that the native gecko exhibits improved locomotor performance compared to the invasive gecko on structurally complex substrates. We also completed encounter surveys to document free-ranging habitat use and behaviour of these two species. We discovered that H. frenatus were more common in natural habitats than previously observed and used similar substrates as G. oceanica, although G. oceanica appeared to use substrates with greater perch heights (i.e., trees). Our findings revealed that locomotor performance in complex environments may contribute to the previously observed habitat segregation between native and invasive Pacific island geckos. Furthermore, our locomotor and habitat use data are consistent with the hypothesis that G. oceanica may be resistant to invasion of H. frenatus in natural environments. Our study calls for more detailed ecophysiological and ecomorphological studies of both native and invasive Pacific gecko species.

中文翻译：

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主场优势：相对于侵入性壁虎，本地壁虎在结构复杂的环境中表现出更高的运动能力和运动能力。

入侵物种引起了极大的关注，因为它们可能威胁到全球生态系统的稳定性和生物多样性。毫不奇怪，在过去几十年中，研究生物入侵驱动因素的研究数量有所增加，以通过为管理决策提供信息来减少入侵物种的成功。与本地壁虎相比，普通的家壁壁虎 Hemidactylus frenatus 已成功入侵太平洋岛屿，在那里它似乎在非自然栖息地茁壮成长并占据主导地位，这些栖息地可提供较高的食物供应（即光线充足的人类住所）。以前的工作表明，H. frenatus 在相对简单的平面（例如，建筑墙壁）上的最大冲刺速度方面可以胜过本地壁虎 Lepidodactylus lugubris。然而，Lepidodactylus lugubris 和其他本地壁虎，在三维结构复杂的栖息地中可能具有出色的运动性能。在这里，我们比较了法属波利尼西亚 Mo'orea 岛上的本地壁虎 Gehyra oceanica 和入侵壁虎 Hemidactylus frenatus 的运动行为和运动能力，模拟结构复杂的基板。我们发现，与结构复杂的基质上的侵入性壁虎相比，天然壁虎表现出更好的运动性能。我们还完成了遭遇调查，以记录这两个物种的自由放养栖息地使用和行为。我们发现 H. frenatus 在自然栖息地中比以前观察到的更常见，并且使用与 G. oceanica 相似的基质，尽管 G. oceanica 似乎使用具有更高栖息高度的基质（即树木）。我们的研究结果表明，复杂环境中的运动性能可能有助于先前观察到的本地和入侵太平洋岛屿壁虎之间的栖息地隔离。此外，我们的运动和栖息地使用数据与 G. oceanica 可能抵抗自然环境中 H. frenatus 入侵的假设一致。我们的研究要求对本地和入侵的太平洋壁虎物种进行更详细的生态生理学和生态形态学研究。