Invasion of the alien gecko Hemidactylus mabouia(Moureau de Jonnès, 1818) in a natural habitat at Praia do Sul Biological Reserve, Ilha Grande, RJ, Brazil

• Published in: Brazilian journal of biology Vol. 75; no. 3; pp. 768 - 770
• Main Authors: Telles, F B S, Militão, C M, Bergallo, H G, Rocha, C F D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Association of the Brazilian Journal of Biology 01.08.2015; Instituto Internacional de Ecologia
• Subjects: BIOLOGY; Hemidactylus mabouia; Lacertilia; Nonnative species; Brasil; Brazil; Ilha Grande
• ISSN: 1519-6984; 1678-4375; 1678-4375
• DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.19614

The gekkonid lizard Hemidactylus mabouia is an exotic species widely distributed in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, which nowadays is rapidly colonizing and spreading in the southern portion of North America. The colonization of the New World occurred naturally from African lineages, at least twice, and had devastated consequences for other geckos and for other native species. A recent study compiling 70 years of published data from natural environments indicated that this exotic species has already invaded many natural environments in the Brazilian territory, with a steadily increase of records in the last three decades. The occurrence of H. mabouia in natural habitats of 36 localities from 13 Brazilian states changed the status of the species from a merely exotic condition to an exotic invasive species in Brazil. An ecological invasion occurs when a non-indigenous species (exotic) is introduced in a natural environment and can defeat ecological resistance, get established, proliferate and disperse, maintaining a viable population through time.