Abstract
The ability to rapidly adjust thermal tolerance in response to variable temperatures may facilitate the success of invasive species in non-native ranges. The Asian house gecko Hemidactylus frenatus is native to the tropics of South and Southeast Asia. This small lizard has spread across the globe and has also successfully invaded colder regions of Australia. In this study, we investigated whether this species displays plasticity in thermal tolerance in its introduced range. We measured cold tolerance (CTmin) and heat tolerance (CTmax) of H. frenatus from two native tropical populations in Thailand, and two introduced subtropical populations in southeastern Australia. We also explored seasonal variation in the thermal tolerance of the introduced populations. We found that heat tolerance (CTmax) of geckos did not differ among four populations in Thailand and Australia (range = 43.4–43.7 °C). By contrast, geckos from southeastern Australia had lower cold tolerance (CTmin) (mean = 10.43 °C) than geckos from Thailand (mean = 11.57 °C). We also documented seasonal shifts in cold tolerance of H. frenatus from southeastern Australia. Geckos captured in winter had cold tolerances 1–2 °C lower than those captured in summer. Unexpectedly, this shift in cold tolerance was accompanied by a 1–2 °C upward shift in heat tolerance. Our results support a growing body of evidence showing that tropical invaders can adjust cold tolerance downwards via plasticity or acclimation. Such changes may allow tropical invaders to expand their geographic range into colder regions of non-native ranges.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Sansareeya Wangulangkul for permission to use equipment in the herpetological laboratory at the Department of Biology, Prince of Songkla University, and Lalita Srion, Hattaya Jaroensap, Phruetthiphong Phetchuay, and Wanitchaya Tirakunpisut for assistance with gecko collection and husbandry in Thailand. We thank Gemma Armstrong and Theja Abayarathna for helping us to manage the gecko room at the University of Technology Sydney, and Alyssa Trotter for guidance and advice about obtaining biosecurity clearance. The University of Technology Sydney funded this project.
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This project is funded by the University of Technology Sydney as part of the post-graduate research program.
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In Australia, all procedures were performed following an ethical standard under the approval of the University of Technology Sydney Animal Care and Ethics Committee (UTS ACEC ETH17-1588). Lapwong was granted permission to deal with the introduced Hemidactylus frenatus under NSW Biosecurity Act 2015 (Reference number V18/3468). In Thailand, Dejtaradol was granted permission to conduct research involving animals (U1-02470-2559) by the Institute for Animals for Scientific Purpose Development (IAD).
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Lapwong, Y., Dejtaradol, A. & Webb, J.K. Shifts in thermal tolerance of the invasive Asian house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) across native and introduced ranges. Biol Invasions 23, 989–996 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02441-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02441-z