Acoustic and Visual Display Behavior of Gekkonid Lizards

Visual and acoustic mechanisms of communication are compared.Their properties are found to be similar except that acousticsystems function more efficiently when light levels are low.The ability of geckos to receive and produce visual and acousticmessages is discussed. Geckos are found to have excellent visionand good hearing. They also possess the visual attributes andsound producing mechanisms necessary for complex displays. Thedisplay behavior of geckos is reviewed. Display types are categorizedaccording to the display mechanism used. Visual displays arefound to utilize color, pattern, posture, and movement. Thesedisplays are used in predator threat as well as in intraspecificsocial contexts such as aggression and courtship. Combined visual-acousticdisplays involve color, pattern, postures, movement, and sound.Combined displays are used in predator threat and in intraspecificaggressive encounters. Acoustic displays have little or no visualcomponent and involve sounds that may be single chirps or temporallypatterned multiple chirps. The single chirps are associatedwith distress while the multiple chirp calls are heard in intraspecificsocial contexts. The displays of diurnal and nocturnal geckosare compared and it is found that differences are correlatedwith differences in their diel activity cycles. In conclusion,it is pointed out that many areas remain to be studied beforegecko display behavior is well understood.