Predicting Potential Habitat Suitability for an Endemic Gecko Calodactylodes aureus and its Conservation Implications in India

The Indian Golden Gecko Calodactylodes aureus (Beddome 1870) is an endemic reptile species largely confined to the Eastern Ghats, India. To estimate its potential habitat suitability, species distribution modelling (SDM) was carried out based on occurrence data and climatic and topographic datasets. We used Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model for predicting potential habitat suitability for C. aureus. The MaxEnt model predicted potential suitable habitat for C. aureus mainly in the northern and southern parts of Eastern Ghats spread across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states. Majority of the suitable habitat areas identified by MaxEnt are outside the protected areas and experience high anthropogenic pressure. Slope and mean diurnal range in temperature were the strongest predictors of C. aureus habitat suitability in the Eastern Ghats. Our results can be effective tools in exploring new ways of understanding C. aureus ecology and biogeography, and for planning and future surveys, and prioritizing conservation activities.