Longevity, reproductive effort and movements of three sympatric Australianarid-zone geckos

Three sympatric diplodactyline geckos were studied in chenopod shrubland ov er a six-year period in northern South Australia. Females of each species w ere significantly larger than males. Rhynchoedura ornata and Diplodactylus conspicillatus, both termite specialists, consistently produced multiple cl utches of two eggs in a long breeding season each year, whereas the reprodu ctive output of D. stenodactylus, a dietary generalist, was more erratic. F emales of the two Diplodactylus species bred in three consecutive years, wh ilst R. ornata seldom lived for more than two years. Mean relocation distan ces ranged from 26 to 35 m, which suggests that some individuals of all spe cies maintained home ranges. However, many individuals of each species, esp ecially R. ornata, were apparently transitory over areas greater than the 1 -ha study site.