This species occurs in a small area of forest that was protected from agricultural development by its historical inaccessibility. The construction of a road in 2005 has, however, opened up this area, which is at imminent risk from further development. he introduction of exotic mammals, particularly feral goats which destroy understorey vegetation and cats which are known to prey on small reptiles, also represents a severe threat to this species; An earlier Red List assessment of this species (Powell and Henderson 2011) predicted that additional pressure on this rare and attractive gecko from commercial exploitation could have a dramatic effect on the population, and subsequently this species has been offered for sale in Europe and imported into the United States (Noseworthy 2017, Shepherd et al. 2019). At least two thirds of animals advertised for sale were male (with a further 17% of "unknown sex") (Shepherd et al. 2019). If this reflects a genuine collection bias rather than small sample size, it could be of significant conservation concern if males are selectively removed from the population ;
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of
The whole entire organism
Details of parts/products taken
Illegal trade in this species was first reported in 2011 and over-harvesting for the international pet trade is now considered the single most important threat to the continued survival of this species.
without a permit granted by the Chief Wildlife Officer, Article 15 of the Wildlife Protection Act prevents any person from, (1) hunting any species of wildlife, (2) disturbing, damaging or destroying the nest or eggs of any species of wildlife, or (3) holding possession any species of wildlife;
Shepherd, C., Janssen, J., & Noseworthy, J. (2019). A case for listing the Union Island Gecko Gonatodes daudini in the Appendices of CITES. Global Ecology And Conservation, 17, e00549. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00549
Recent surveys suggest a sharp (80%) decline in the most accessible habitats of the wild population and any offtake could have detrimental consequences. The overwhelming presence of males (compared to females) in international trade is of potential conservation concern
Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record