Evolution on Your Porch

Introduced Mediterranean House Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus, MHGs) experience one of the broadest climatic ranges among terrestrial ectothermic vertebrates. The VIP lab is collaborating with Drs. Robert Espinoza and Jeanne Robertson (California State University, Northridge), Dr. Gregory Pauly (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles), and Dr. Aaron Bauer (Villanova University) to test whether MHGs have rapidly evolved to adapt to their local climates across the United States. We ultimately plan to use the physiological data collected to create a mechanistic niche model that predicts the future spread of MHGs in the U.S.