• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.198-204
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• 2018

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.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.373-380
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• 2018

We examined activities of adult (n=9, 3 females and 6 males) and juvenile (n=4) Schlegel's Japanese gecko (Gekko japonicus) in an indoor vivarium for 47 days to study the preference and competition for shelters at day and night. The result showed the strong correlation between the temperature inside the shelter and the body temperature of Schlegel's Japanese gecko and more individuals observed outside the shelters at nighttime than daytime. Both adults and juveniles showed a preference for certain shelters. The adults preferred the warmer shelters in the daytime while the juveniles preferred the same shelter in both daytime and nighttime. Both adults and juveniles observed outside the shelter at the nighttime had higher body temperature than those found inside. In the daytime, the body temperature of adults was higher than that of juveniles, but there was no significant difference in the nighttime. The results imply that G. japonicus, which is the nocturnal lizard, prefers the shelters with higher temperature and that there is the competition for shelters between adults and juveniles. This study provides the reference data on the relationships between the body temperature and the activities of G. japonicus.