Geckos of the genus Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 are one of the most widely distributed and species-rich groups of gekkonids. With approximately 90 species, the genus Hemidactylus accounts for 10% of the total number of species in the family Gekkonidae (Carranza and Arnold, 2006). They are found in a range of ecological conditions from wet tropical forest to arid deserts. Their wide distribution is believed to have been facilitated not only naturally, but also through human mediated transport. Indian subcontinent houses 31 species of these geckos, 23 of which are endemic to the subcontinent. The aim of this study was to understand the phylogeny and biogeography of Hemidactylus geckos of the Indian subcontinent. In order to arrive at the conclusions regarding the biogeographic history of this widely distributed taxon on the Indian subcontinent, an integrative approach was followed. First the phylogenetic reconstruction of Indian species was undertaken. The ancestral areas of distribution were reconstructed on the phylogeny and the divergence dates of the species were also estimated. Finally, the biogeographic events were inferred in accordance with the geological events with respect to the divergent times for these radiations. Results indicated that Hemidactylus geckos of the Indian subcontinent belong to three geographical clades: Southeast Asian clade, West-Asian arid clade and a ‘unique Indian radiation’ which consisted majority of the species distributed in India that are largely confined to the Indian subcontinent. Additionally, the three widely distributed, commensal species (H. brookii, H. frenatus and H. flaviviridis) were nested within the Indian radiation suggesting their Indian origin. It was also seen that the endemic Hemidactylus geckos of Sri Lanka have been derived from India through multiple independent dispersal events spread across the Oligocene-Miocene. These dispersals were both geo dispersal as well as transmarine dispersal events. However, the species distributed both in India and Sri Lanka appear to have undergone recent dispersals into Sri Lanka and probably back into India, primarily through human agency. Thus, it was inferred that the Indian subcontinent has served as an important arena for diversification among the Hemidactylus geckos and their spread. In addition, it was discovered that H. anamallensis, a species endemic to Southern Western Ghats of peninsular India was probably genetically distinct from Hemidactylus, indicating that it could not be Hemidactylus at all. Thus, the phylogenetic position of H. anamallensis within the subfamily Gekkoninae was also investigated and its genetic distinctiveness from that of Hemidactylus was also tested. Results showed that H. anamallensis lineage was indeed distinct from Hemidactylus group, as well as from other closely related genera (Cyrtodactylus and Geckoella) in both nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Divergence estimates supported a scenario wherein H. anamallensis dispersed across marine barrier to the drifting peninsular Indian plate in the late Cretaceous, whereas Hemidactylus arrived on the peninsular India after the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate. Based on these molecular evidence and biogeographical scenario it was proposed that genus Dravidogecko should be resurrected.

No description available.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Ecologicamente, comunidades são conjuntos de populações convivendo no mesmo espaço e tempo. A forma como as espécies que compõem estas comunidades, como elas se distribuem e como estão estruturadas, depende de inúmeros fatores, entre eles históricos, biogeográficos e evolutivos. Neste estudo, buscamos compreender como as comunidades de anfíbios anuros e de lagartos estão estruturadas e quais fatores ambientais e de degradação são determinantes nesta estruturação. Amostramos cinco remanescentes de restinga no estado do Espírito Santo, utilizando método de procura ativa em transecções lineares nas diferentes fisionomias vegetais destes ecossistemas. Realizamos amostragens nas estações seca e de chuvas em todas as restingas, e somamos um total de 60 horas de esforço amostral para os anfíbios e 75 horas para os lagartos. Registramos um total de 32 espécies de anfíbios anuros conjuntamente nos cinco remanescentes de restinga, sendo duas destas espécies endêmicas deste ecossistema: Scinax agilis e Melanophryniscus setiba. A restinga do Parque Paulo Cesar Vinha foi o remanescente com a maior riqueza de espécies de anuros, enquanto a restinga da Reserva Biológica de Comboios foi, comparativamente, o remanescente com menor riqueza de espécies. Em termos de composição de espécies, as restingas de Praia das Neves e Paulo Cesar Vinha foram as mais similares, enquanto a restinga de Comboios foi a mais distante na análise de agrupamento. Registramos no conjunto de restingas seis modos reprodutivos para as espécies de anuros, sendo 75% deles relacionados aos ambientes aquáticos. A disponibilidade de locais de desova esteve positivamente relacionada à riqueza de espécies. Todos os mesohábitats das restingas, com exceção das fitofisionomias de halófila-psamófila, foram utilizados pelos indivíduos registrados, entretanto, uma porcentagem considerável dos indivíduos foi encontrada nos alagados. Em relação às comunidades de lagartos, adotamos além dos nossos dados, aqueles disponíveis em Dias e Rocha (2014) e aqueles disponíveis em Winck (2012). Registramos um total de 23 espécies de lagartos nos remanescentes de restinga amostrados nos estados do Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo e Bahia. Observamos que as comunidades presentes nos remanescentes estudados possuem considerável diferenciação entre elas. A diversidade beta (β) foi elevada enquanto o grau de aninhamento foi intermediário. Registramos ainda a presença do lagarto exótico invasor Hemidactylus mabouia em ambiente natural nos remanescentes de restinga estudados neste Tese. Encontramos 45 indivíduos, distribuídos em três dos cinco remanescentes amostrados. Registramos ainda ovos de H. mabouia (2 deles eclodidos) em dois dos cinco locais estudados, indicando que o recrutamento de indivíduos está ocorrendo com sucesso nas populações invasoras. A presença de H. mabouia esteve relacionada à restingas com maior frequência de degradação ambiental. Consideramos que os dados obtidos nesta tese, fornecem informações de considerável importância para o entendimento da estrutura das comunidades de anfíbios e lagartos nos ecossistemas de restinga ao longo da costa brasileira / Ecologically, communities are groups of populations living in the same space and time. The way the species that compose these communities and how they are distributed and structured, depends on many factors, including historical, biogeographical and evolutionary. In this study, we aimed to understand how communities of amphibians and lizards are structured and what environmental and degradation factors determine this structure. We sampled five restinga habitats (sandy coastal plains) in the state of Espírito Santo, using linear transects in different vegetation types (mesohabitats) in this ecosystems. We conducted sampling in the dry and in the rainy season in all restinga habitats, totaling 60 hours of sampling effort for amphibians and 75 hours for lizards. We recorded a total of 32 species of frogs together in the five restingas, which two of these being endemic species of this ecosystem: Scinax agilis and Melanophryniscus setiba. The restinga Paulo Cesar Vinha was the remnant with the highest frog species richness, while the Reserva Biologica de Comboios had the lowest richness. In terms of species composition, Praia das Neves and Paulo Cesar Vinha were the most similar, while Comboios was the farthest in the Cluster analysis. We recorded six reproductive modes for frog species in the five restinga habitats, which 75% were related to aquatic environments. The availability of nesting sites for the species of frogs was positively related to species richness in restingas. The individuals recorded used all mesohabitats of restingas, except the vegetation types of halofila-psamófila and a considerable percentage of individuals were found in the wetlands. In addition to our data about lizards community, we considered those available in Dias e Rocha (2014) and those found in Winck (2012). We recorded a total of 23 species of lizards in the restinga habitats sampled in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and Bahia. We observed that the communities in the studied restingas have considerable differentiation between them. The beta diversity - β was high while the degree of nestedness was intermediate. We also recorded the presence of the exotic invader lizard Hemidactylus mabouia in natural environment in the remaining restingas studied in this thesis. We found 45 individuals in three of the five sampled restingas. We also recorded eggs of H. mabouia (2 of them hatched) in two of the five sites studied, indicating that the recruitment of individuals is taking place successfully. The presence of H. mabouia was related to restingas with higher frequency of environmental degradation. We consider that the data obtained in this Thesis, provides considerable importance of information for understanding the structure of amphibian and lizards communities in restingas ecosystems along the Brazilian coast.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Ecologicamente, comunidades são conjuntos de populações convivendo no mesmo espaço e tempo. A forma como as espécies que compõem estas comunidades, como elas se distribuem e como estão estruturadas, depende de inúmeros fatores, entre eles históricos, biogeográficos e evolutivos. Neste estudo, buscamos compreender como as comunidades de anfíbios anuros e de lagartos estão estruturadas e quais fatores ambientais e de degradação são determinantes nesta estruturação. Amostramos cinco remanescentes de restinga no estado do Espírito Santo, utilizando método de procura ativa em transecções lineares nas diferentes fisionomias vegetais destes ecossistemas. Realizamos amostragens nas estações seca e de chuvas em todas as restingas, e somamos um total de 60 horas de esforço amostral para os anfíbios e 75 horas para os lagartos. Registramos um total de 32 espécies de anfíbios anuros conjuntamente nos cinco remanescentes de restinga, sendo duas destas espécies endêmicas deste ecossistema: Scinax agilis e Melanophryniscus setiba. A restinga do Parque Paulo Cesar Vinha foi o remanescente com a maior riqueza de espécies de anuros, enquanto a restinga da Reserva Biológica de Comboios foi, comparativamente, o remanescente com menor riqueza de espécies. Em termos de composição de espécies, as restingas de Praia das Neves e Paulo Cesar Vinha foram as mais similares, enquanto a restinga de Comboios foi a mais distante na análise de agrupamento. Registramos no conjunto de restingas seis modos reprodutivos para as espécies de anuros, sendo 75% deles relacionados aos ambientes aquáticos. A disponibilidade de locais de desova esteve positivamente relacionada à riqueza de espécies. Todos os mesohábitats das restingas, com exceção das fitofisionomias de halófila-psamófila, foram utilizados pelos indivíduos registrados, entretanto, uma porcentagem considerável dos indivíduos foi encontrada nos alagados. Em relação às comunidades de lagartos, adotamos além dos nossos dados, aqueles disponíveis em Dias e Rocha (2014) e aqueles disponíveis em Winck (2012). Registramos um total de 23 espécies de lagartos nos remanescentes de restinga amostrados nos estados do Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo e Bahia. Observamos que as comunidades presentes nos remanescentes estudados possuem considerável diferenciação entre elas. A diversidade beta (β) foi elevada enquanto o grau de aninhamento foi intermediário. Registramos ainda a presença do lagarto exótico invasor Hemidactylus mabouia em ambiente natural nos remanescentes de restinga estudados neste Tese. Encontramos 45 indivíduos, distribuídos em três dos cinco remanescentes amostrados. Registramos ainda ovos de H. mabouia (2 deles eclodidos) em dois dos cinco locais estudados, indicando que o recrutamento de indivíduos está ocorrendo com sucesso nas populações invasoras. A presença de H. mabouia esteve relacionada à restingas com maior frequência de degradação ambiental. Consideramos que os dados obtidos nesta tese, fornecem informações de considerável importância para o entendimento da estrutura das comunidades de anfíbios e lagartos nos ecossistemas de restinga ao longo da costa brasileira / Ecologically, communities are groups of populations living in the same space and time. The way the species that compose these communities and how they are distributed and structured, depends on many factors, including historical, biogeographical and evolutionary. In this study, we aimed to understand how communities of amphibians and lizards are structured and what environmental and degradation factors determine this structure. We sampled five restinga habitats (sandy coastal plains) in the state of Espírito Santo, using linear transects in different vegetation types (mesohabitats) in this ecosystems. We conducted sampling in the dry and in the rainy season in all restinga habitats, totaling 60 hours of sampling effort for amphibians and 75 hours for lizards. We recorded a total of 32 species of frogs together in the five restingas, which two of these being endemic species of this ecosystem: Scinax agilis and Melanophryniscus setiba. The restinga Paulo Cesar Vinha was the remnant with the highest frog species richness, while the Reserva Biologica de Comboios had the lowest richness. In terms of species composition, Praia das Neves and Paulo Cesar Vinha were the most similar, while Comboios was the farthest in the Cluster analysis. We recorded six reproductive modes for frog species in the five restinga habitats, which 75% were related to aquatic environments. The availability of nesting sites for the species of frogs was positively related to species richness in restingas. The individuals recorded used all mesohabitats of restingas, except the vegetation types of halofila-psamófila and a considerable percentage of individuals were found in the wetlands. In addition to our data about lizards community, we considered those available in Dias e Rocha (2014) and those found in Winck (2012). We recorded a total of 23 species of lizards in the restinga habitats sampled in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and Bahia. We observed that the communities in the studied restingas have considerable differentiation between them. The beta diversity - β was high while the degree of nestedness was intermediate. We also recorded the presence of the exotic invader lizard Hemidactylus mabouia in natural environment in the remaining restingas studied in this thesis. We found 45 individuals in three of the five sampled restingas. We also recorded eggs of H. mabouia (2 of them hatched) in two of the five sites studied, indicating that the recruitment of individuals is taking place successfully. The presence of H. mabouia was related to restingas with higher frequency of environmental degradation. We consider that the data obtained in this Thesis, provides considerable importance of information for understanding the structure of amphibian and lizards communities in restingas ecosystems along the Brazilian coast.

Phylogeny of 25 Hemidactylus frenatus populations from Taiwan and adjecent islands were resloved by mitochondrial cytochrome b nucleotide sequences and morphological characters. A total of 327 bp were sequenced. Using neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony methods, the phylogenetic trees divide Hemidactylus frenatus into 8 regional groups: Tungshia group; Chiaohsi group; northwest group; central group; Chiayi-Tainan group; south-Penghu group; east-Hengchun group; and southeast group. The results suggest that, the dispersal center should be in the northwest, and then dispersed to the east and the south. Phylogenetic state of Chiaohsi population is not clear. It may be immigrated from northwest or outside of Taiwan. The Penghu and Kaohsiung populations have a short genetic distance, maybe caused from frequently genetic interflow, as well as the Chihpen, Tunghe, Lutao and Lanyu populations. The Principle Component Analysis and Canonical Discriminate Analysis of 16 morphological characters, showed that no differences exist populations.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2015-12-04T19:15:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaJaquelineMonteDeAndrade_DISSERT.pdf: 2265638 bytes, checksum: 9f30624d051acb090d637ee2530e2a96 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2015-12-09T23:02:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaJaquelineMonteDeAndrade_DISSERT.pdf: 2265638 bytes, checksum: 9f30624d051acb090d637ee2530e2a96 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-09T23:02:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaJaquelineMonteDeAndrade_DISSERT.pdf: 2265638 bytes, checksum: 9f30624d051acb090d637ee2530e2a96 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-13 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / O g?nero Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 tem distribui??o cosmopolita e, no Brasil, ocorrem tr?s esp?cies, sendo duas nativas, H. brasilianus e H. agrius, e uma ex?tica, H. mabouia. Tomando como base os estudos sobre ecologia de lagartos efetuados na Esta??o Ecol?gica do Serid?, de 2001 a 2011, este trabalho buscou reavaliar a ocorr?ncia das esp?cies do g?nero Hemidactylus nesta ESEC, analisar aspectos ecol?gicos e biol?gicos da popula??o de H. agrius; e investigar a distribui??o atual e potencial das esp?cies nativas do g?nero na regi?o nordeste, analisando a adequabilidade da ESEC para este t?xon. Para os dois primeiros objetivos, uma ?rea de amostragem constitu?da por cinco transectos de 200 m x 20 m, foi inspecionada em turnos alternados por tr?s dias consecutivos, de agosto de 2012 a agosto de 2013. Para a ?ltima perspectiva, foram consultados pontos de ocorr?ncia de H. agrius e H. brasilianus na literatura e no banco de dados da Cole??o Herpetol?gica da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte para constru??o de mapas preditivos, atrav?s do algoritmo de M?xima Entropia (MaxEnt). Na ESEC Serid? foram coletados 62 H. agrius (25 f?meas, 18 machos e 19 juvenis) e dois rec?m-nascidos foram obtidos a partir de um ninho comunal incubado em laborat?rio, nenhum registro foi feito para as demais esp?cies do g?nero. Hemidactylus agrius demostrou ser uma esp?cie noturna com especialidade a h?bitats com Afloramentos Rochosos, no entanto, generalista quanto ao uso de microh?bitats. Nesta popula??o as f?meas possuem comprimento corporal m?dio maior que o dos machos e apresentaram maiores frequ?ncias de autotomia caudal. Em rela??o ? dieta, H. agrius ? uma esp?cie moderadamente generalista, que consome artr?podes, principalmente Aranae, Orthoptera e Isoptera; e vertebrados, al?m de ter constatado um caso de canibalismo. Quanto ? sazonalidade foram registradas diferen?as apenas para o n?mero dos itens alimentares consumidos. A dieta foi similar entre os sexos, por?m diferen?as ontogen?ticas foram registradas para o volume total e comprimento m?ximo dos itens alimentares. Rela??es significativas foram constatadas entre o tamanho do corpo e da cabe?a dos esp?cimes com o comprimento m?ximo das presas consumidas. Casos de polidactilia e de bifurca??o caudal foram registrados na popula??o com frequ?ncias de 1,6 % e 3,1%, respectivamente. Em rela??o ?s localidades de ocorr?ncia das esp?cies nativas, foram constatados 27 pontos, sendo 14 para H. agrius e 13 para H. brasilianus; a primeira apresentou distribui??o restrita, enquanto que a segunda demonstrou ampla distribui??o. Em ambos os modelos gerados a ?rea da ESEC Serid? apresentou de m?dia a alta adequabilidade. Os resultados deste trabalho confirma a aus?ncia de H. brasilianus e H. mabouia nesta ESEC e confere a H. agrius condi??o de esp?cie canibal oportunista. Al?m disso, confirma os padr?es de distribui??o exibidos pelas esp?cies nativas de Hemidactylus e aponta a ESEC Serid? como ?rea de prov?vel ocorr?ncia para as esp?cies do g?nero, constatando, assim, que o estabelecimento de H. brasilianus e de H. mabouia, possivelmente, ? limitado por fatores bi?ticos, ainda pouco esclarecidos. / The genus Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 has cosmopolite distribution, with three species occurring in Brazil, two of them native, H. brasilianus and H. agrius, and one exotic, H. mabouia. Considering the studies about ecology of lizards conducted in the Ecological Station of the Serid?, from 2001 to 2011, this study aimed (1) to re-evaluate the occurrence of the species of Hemidactylus in this ESEC; (2) to analyze ecological and biological aspects of the H. agrius population; and (3) to investigate the current and potential distribution of the native species of the genus in northeastern Brazil, analyzing the suitability of ESEC to this taxon. For the first two objectives, a sampling area consisting of five transects of 200 x 20 m, was inspected in alternating daily shifts for three consecutive days, from August 2012 to August 2013. For the latter objective, occurrence points of H. agrius and H. brasilianus from literature and from the database of Herpetological Collections of the UFRN and the UNICAMP were consulted to build predictive maps via the Maximum Entropy algorithm (MaxEnt). In ESEC Serid?, 62 H. agrius individuals were collected (25 females, 18 males and 19 juveniles), and two neonates were obtained from a communal nest incubated in the laboratory. No record was made for the other two species of the genus. Hemidactylus agrius demonstrated to be a nocturnal species specialized in habitats with rocky outcrops; but this species is generalist regarding microhabitat use. In the population studied, females had an average body length greater than males, and showed higher frequencies of caudal autotomy. Regarding diet, H. agrius is a moderately generalist species that consumes arthropods, especially insect larvae, Isoptera and Araneae; and vertebrates, with a case of cannibalism registered in the population. With respect to seasonal differences, only the number of food items ingested differed between seasons. The diet was similar between sexes, but ontogenetic differences were recorded for the total volume and maximum length of the food items. Significant relationships were found between lizard body/head size measurements and the maximum length of prey consumed. Cases of polydactyly and tail bifurcation were recorded in the population, with frequencies of 1.6% and 3.1%, respectively. In relation xv to the occurrence points of the native species, 27 were identified, 14 for H. agrius and 13 for H. brasilianus. The first species presented restricted distribution, while the second showed a wide distribution. In both models generated, the ESEC Serid? area showed medium to high suitability. The results of this study confirm the absence of H. brasilianus and H. mabouia this ESEC, and reveal H. agrius as a dietary opportunist and cannibal species. Further, the results confirm the distribution patterns shown by native species of Hemidactylus, and point ESEC Serid? as an area of probable occurrence for the species of the genus, the establishing of H. brasilianus and H. mabouia are probably limited by biotic factors, a fact yet little understood