Preliminary observations on foraging mode in a community of house geckos on Tahiti and a comment on competition

Foraging mode (statistics of motion) of geckos was observed on Tahiti in a house harbouring Gehyra mutilata, G. oceanica, Hemidactylus frenatus and Lepidodactylus lugubris. These species tend to share similar activity cycles but were not fully syntopic. All four species are known as opportunistic insectivores with largely overlapping lists of prey types. From small samples observed, G. mutilata (n=4) and L lugubris (N=5) are, statistically, sit-and-wait (SW) foragers; from one or two individuals, G. oceanica and H. frenatus, too, may be SW foragers. However, L. lugubris sometimes hunts more actively. Tentatively, if food is a limiting factor, the main options for partial resource partitioning among these sympatric species are size differentiation and reduction of syntopy.