DIVERGENT ECOLOGY OF SYMPATRIC CLONES OF THE ASEXUAL GECKO, LEPIDODACTYLUS-LUGUBRIS

We report differences in the thermal biology, elevational, temporal an d geographic distributions of sympatric clones of the widespread asexu al house gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris. The two most common L. lugubr is clones in Fiji, clones 2NA and 2NB, differ significantly in preferr ed temperature as measured in a laboratory heat gradient, but were sim ilar in critical thermal maximum and minimum. Significant differences were found in the relative frequency of clones 2NA, 2NB, and a third F ijian clone, clone 3NB, at seven sites along an elevational gradient i n Fiji. Clone 2NB was not collected at sites above 235 m, consistent w ith its higher preferred temperature, whereas clone 2NA was captured a s high as 835 m. Clone 3NB was extremely rare at sealevel (1% of all i ndividuals at three sites below 100 m), but predominated at the two hi ghest-elevation sites (42% and 100%). Clones 2NA and 2NB did not diffe r significantly in their activity time or ambient activity temperature at low-elevation sites. Clone 3NB however, was active on significantl y cooler nights at two of those sites. These significant inter-clonal differences in spatial and temporal distribution should allow a more c omplete utilization of resources by the assemblage of clones than by a ny single clonal genotype, and may promote coexistence of clones at a within-island and within-site scale. Clone 2NA, which is the most comm on clone in Fiji and has the broadest elevational distribution, also h as the widest geographic distribution. It was the predominant clone at 27 of 34 sites surveyed in nine Pacific archipelagoes. This suggests that the ecological attributes that favor this clone in Fiji also favo r it elsewhere in the Pacific despite differing environmental conditio ns and clonal composition in those areas.