01853nas a2200205   4500008004100000245015200041210006900193300001200262490000800274520104200282653001101324653002901335653003501364653002201399653002501421100002301446700002001469700002001489856013801509       2005                        eng d00aPotential distribution modelling, niche characterization and conservation status assessment using GIS tools: a case study of Iberian Copris species0 aPotential distribution modelling niche characterization and cons  a327-3380 v1223 aDung beetle populations, in decline, play a critical ecological role in extensive pasture ecosystems by recycling organic matter; thus the importance of their conservation status. Presence data available for Copris hispanus (L.) and Copris lunaris (L.) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) in Comunidad de Madrid (CM), and BIOMAPPER, a GIS-based tool, was used to model their environmental niches. The so derived potential distributions of both species were used to exemplify the utility of this kind of methodologies in conservation assessment, as well as its capacity to describe the potential sympatry between two or more species. Both species, distributed along a Dry-Mediterranean to Wet-Alpine environmental conditions gradient, overlap in areas of moderate temperatures and mean annual precipitations in the north of CM. Copris are poorly conserved in the existing protected sites network, but protection provided by new sites included in the future Natura 2000 Network will improve the general conservation status of these species in CM. =10aCopris10aDung beetle conservation10aGIS predictive niche-modelling10aIberian Peninsula10aSpecies distribution1 aChefaoui, Rosa, M.1 aHortal, Joaquin1 aLobo, Jorge, M.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/potential-distribution-modelling-niche-characterization-and-conservation-status-assessment-using-gis