No abstract

Background: The effective use of habitats is essential for the successful adaptation of a species to the local environment. Although habitats exhibit a hierarchical structure, including macro-, meso-, and microhabitats, the relationships among habitats of differing hierarchy have not been well studied. In this study, we studied the quantitative measures of microhabitat use of Gekko japonicus from three field populations in Japan: one at Tsushima Island, one at Nishi Park, Fukuoka, and one at Ohori Park, Fukuoka. We investigated whether land cover type, a higher hierarchical habitat component, was associated with quantitative microhabitat use, a lower hierarchical component, in these populations. Results: The substrate temperature where we located geckos (SubT) and the distance from the ground to the gecko (Height) were significantly different among the three populations. In particular, SubT on Tsushima Island was lower than it was in the other two populations. Irradiance at gecko location and Height were significantly different among the land cover types. In particular, Height in evergreen needleleaf forest was significantly lower than that in deciduous broadleaf forest. Furthermore, significant interactions between population and land cover type were observed for the SubT and Height variables. Conclusions: The quantitative measures of microhabitat use of G. japonicus varied with population and land cover type, which exhibited significant interaction effects on microhabitat use variables. These results suggest that higher hierarchical habitat components can affect the quantitative measures of lower hierarchical microhabitat use in nocturnal geckos.

Differential microhabitat use may be beneficial to achieving fitness in seasonally variable environmental conditions. To explore whether the microhabitat use of the nocturnal Schlegel’s Japanese gecko, Gekko japonicus , varies seasonally and depends on juvenile, male, and female reproductive groups, we investigated five categorical and five quantitative measure variables of microhabitat use in a wild population both in spring and summer. Most geckos were found on white, vertical planes of concrete and plastered brick walls. None of the categorical variables (type of location, substrate, substrate color, light source, and refuge) significantly differed according to season or group, while substrate temperature and irradiance at the location where geckos were observed and the distance from the nearest potential refuge were significantly greater in summer than in spring. The quantitative measure variables did not differ among the reproductive groups. These results suggest that G. japonicus seasonally adjusts its microhabitat use mainly in terms of quantitative measure variables rather than categorical variables.

Marine reptiles are declining globally, and recent climate change may be a contributing factor. The study of sea snakes collected beyond their typical distribution range provides valuable insight on how climate change affects marine reptile populations. Recently, we collected 12 Laticauda semifasciata (11 females, 1 male) from the waters around southern South Korea—an area located outside its typical distribution range (Japan, China including Taiwan, Philippines and Indonesia). We investigated the genetic origin of Korean specimens by analyzing mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (Cytb) sequences. Six individuals shared haplotypes with a group found in Taiwan-southern Ryukyu Islands, while the remaining six individuals shared haplotypes with a group encompassing the entire Ryukyu Archipelago. These results suggest L. semifasciata moved into Korean waters from the Taiwan-Ryukyu region via the Taiwan Warm Current and/or the Kuroshio Current, with extended survival facilitated by ocean warming. We highlight several contributing factors that increase the chances that L. semifasciata establishes new northern populations beyond the original distribution range.

Background: Studies of morphological variation within and among populations provide an opportunity to understand local adaptation and potential patterns of gene flow. To study the evolutionary divergence patterns of Schlegel's Japanese gecko (Gekko japonicus) across its distribution, we analyzed data for 15 morphological characters of 324 individuals across 11 populations (2 in China, 4 in Japan, and 5 in Korea). Results: Among-population morphological variation was smaller than within-population variation, which was primarily explained by variation in axilla-groin length, number of infralabials, number of scansors on toe IV, and head-related variables such as head height and width. The population discrimination power was 32.4% and in cluster analysis, populations from the three countries tended to intermix in two major groups. Conclusion: Our results indicate that morphological differentiation among the studied populations is scarce, suggesting short history for some populations after their establishment, frequent migration of individuals among the populations, and/or local morphological differentiation in similar urban habitats. Nevertheless, we detected interesting phenetic patterns that may predict consistent linkage of particular populations that are independent of national borders. Additional sampling across the range and inclusion of genetic data could give further clue for the historical relationship among Chinese, Japanese, and Korean populations of G. japonicus.