Habitat selection of the Mauritian lowland forest day gecko at multiple spatial scales: A baseline for translocation

Of 30 known subpopulations of Phelsuma guimbeaui, 18 are in patches of exotic forest and are predicted to disappear in the next decade. One possible means of mitigating the reduction in genetic diversity associated with the loss of subpopulations is to translocate “at risk” subpopulations to more secure habitats. Prior to any such intervention, it is important to identify a species’ basic ecological needs. We had three main objectives: to calculate home range sizes of adult geckos; characterise habitat selection among age groups; and identify the order of importance of each habitat predictor. Habitat selection of P. guimbeaui was explored at the population, home range and microhabitat levels. Males had larger home ranges than females, and overlapped temporally with more females than males. We showed that habitat selection differed between age groups. In order of importance, tree diversity, tree species, tree height, trunk dbh and cavity density were important habitat predictors. We discuss how these data can be used to inform the choice of sites for the translocation of threatened subpopulations. Our results also highlight the importance of undertaking habitat restoration for the long-term conservation of the 12 subpopulations that survive in patches of endemic forest

The genome sequence of the Mauritius kestrel, Falco punctatus (Temminck, 1821) [Version 1]

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Falco punctatus (the Mauritius kestrel; Chordata; Aves; Falconiformes; Falconidae). The genome sequence is 1,279.3 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 23 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 17.34 kilobases in length

Isolation and characterisation of Mauritius lowland day gecko Phelsuma guimbeaui microsatellite loci

We isolated 315 sequences from a Phelsuma guimbeaui microsatellite-enriched genomic library. Primer sets were designed for 44 loci and used to genotype 29 unrelated individuals belonging to a population in the west of Mauritius. All the loci were polymorphic and the number of alleles ranged from 6 to 34. Mean observed and expected heterozygosity varied from 0.29 to 1.00 and 0.48 to 0.97, respectively. Thirteen loci displayed evidence of deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, of which 11 also had an estimated null allele frequency ?10 %. The microsatellite loci will be used to evaluate the population structure and genetic diversity of P. guimbeaui in Mauritius

Ecological Effects of the Invasive Giant Madagascar Day Gecko on Endemic Mauritian Geckos: Applications of Binomial-Mixture and Species Distribution Models

<div><p>The invasion of the giant Madagascar day gecko <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> has increased the threats to the four endemic Mauritian day geckos (<i>Phelsuma</i> spp.) that have survived on mainland Mauritius. We had two main aims: (i) to predict the spatial distribution and overlap of <i>P. grandis</i> and the endemic geckos at a landscape level; and (ii) to investigate the effects of <i>P. grandis</i> on the abundance and risks of extinction of the endemic geckos at a local scale. An ensemble forecasting approach was used to predict the spatial distribution and overlap of <i>P. grandis</i> and the endemic geckos. We used hierarchical binomial mixture models and repeated visual estimate surveys to calculate the abundance of the endemic geckos in sites with and without <i>P. grandis</i>. The predicted range of each species varied from 85 km² to 376 km². Sixty percent of the predicted range of <i>P. grandis</i> overlapped with the combined predicted ranges of the four endemic geckos; 15% of the combined predicted ranges of the four endemic geckos overlapped with <i>P. grandis</i>. Levin's niche breadth varied from 0.140 to 0.652 between <i>P. grandis</i> and the four endemic geckos. The abundance of endemic geckos was 89% lower in sites with <i>P. grandis</i> compared to sites without <i>P. grandis</i>, and the endemic geckos had been extirpated at four of ten sites we surveyed with <i>P. grandis</i>. Species Distribution Modelling, together with the breadth metrics, predicted that <i>P. grandis</i> can partly share the equivalent niche with endemic species and survive in a range of environmental conditions. We provide strong evidence that smaller endemic geckos are unlikely to survive in sympatry with <i>P. grandis</i>. This is a cause of concern in both Mauritius and other countries with endemic species of <i>Phelsuma</i>.</p></div

Model selection results. Abundance was modelled with habitat and status as site-level covariates.

<p>K = number of parameters used.</p><p>Delta AICc = difference between lowest AICc model and model AICc.</p><p>AICc weight = model probability among all candidate models.</p><p>Detection probability was modelled with observation-level covariates: cloud = cloud percentage cover; habitat = building, non-palm or palm; status = presence or absence of <i>P. grandis</i>; and temp = temperature. We used the corrected Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) to determine the best supported model.</p

Effects of habitat type and cloud cover in each habitat type on detection probability.

<p><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088798#pone-0088798-g005" target="_blank">Figure 5a</a> shows that the detection probability (with 95% confidence intervals) was similar in the three habitat types, with detection probability slightly higher in building sites than palm followed by non palm sites. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088798#pone-0088798-g005" target="_blank">Figure 5b</a> shows a general decrease in detection probability (with 95% confidence intervals indicated by broken lines) with an increase in cloud cover in the three habitat types. Blue indicates building sites, black palm sites and red non-palm sites.</p

The mean endemic gecko abundance (with 95% confidence intervals) in sites with and without <i>Phelsuma grandis</i>.

<p>Sites without <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> had a high abundance of endemic geckos, those with <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> a low abundance of endemic geckos. N = 10 sites with <i>Phelsuma grandis</i>, N = 11 sites without <i>Phelsuma grandis</i>.</p

The binary projection and overlap between <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> and the combined predicted ranges of the four endemic species of <i>Phelsuma</i> on mainland Mauritius.

<p>Grey indicates that no species of <i>Phelsuma</i> were predicted to be present, yellow shows the predicted range of <i>Phelsuma grandis</i>, blue the combined predicted range of all the species of endemic <i>Phelsuma</i>, and red areas of predicted overlap. The first number in the heading is the % overlap of the predicted range of <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> with the combined predicted ranges of the four species of endemic <i>Phelsuma</i>, and the second number is the overlap of the endemic species' combined predicted ranges with the predicted range of <i>Phelsuma grandis</i>.</p

The binary projection and overlap between <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> and four endemic species of <i>Phelsuma</i>.

<p>Each map shows the overlap of <i>P. grandis</i> and one of the endemic species. On each map, grey indicates that no species of <i>Phelsuma</i> were predicted to be present, yellow shows the predicted range of <i>Phelsuma grandis</i>, blue the predicted range of that species of endemic <i>Phelsuma</i>, and red areas of predicted overlap between the two species. The first number in each heading is the % overlap of the predicted range of <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> with that species of endemic gecko and the second number is the % overlap of the endemic species' predicted range with that of <i>Phelsuma grandis</i>. The different maps suggest that <i>Phelsuma cepediana</i> (a) and <i>Phelsuma ornata</i> (c) will overlap more with <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> and thus could be at greater risk.</p

Locations of the ten sites with <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> (red) and 11 sites without <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> (green) used to estimate the abundance of endemic species of <i>Phelsuma</i>.

<p>The black dot indicates Baie du Tombeau, the location where <i>Phelsuma grandis</i> was first introduced.</p