Abstract. Despite being one of the most charismatic elements of the Mediterranean Basin fauna and its threatened status, the western Mediterranean range of Testudo graeca is at present very poorly known. The present work provides the most detailed geographical and ecological description for the North African clade of T. graeca so far. We gathered 283 occurrence data of T. graeca in North Africa and modelled the distribution by means of presence-only distribution modelling tools. The obtained model was then projected to southern Europe in order to explore whether the environmental characteristics of European populations fall into the predicted niche of the species in North Africa.T. graeca showed a wide environmental range in North Africa. Presence localities ranged from the sea level to 2090 m of altitude and from 116 to 1093 mm of annual precipitation. The presence-only model indicates that distribution in North Africa is mainly related to rainfall, specifically rainfall values in the wettest and coldest quarter of the year. The distribution model showed a range of ca. 1 000 000 km 2 . The projection of the model to southern Europe showed that the southern Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, as well as most Mediterranean islands, present climatic conditions within those found in the range of the species in North Africa.

SummaryUnderstanding habitat requirements is vital for developing successful management strategies for threatened species. In this study we analyse the habitat selection of two globally threatened waterbirds (Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris and White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala) coexisting in an internationally important wetland (El Hondo Natural Park, south-eastern Spain) at three spatial scales. We surveyed adults and broods of these species fortnightly during two consecutive years and we related density and presence of birds to several habitat variables. At a pond-selection scale, the density of both species was related to the surface area of the ponds, with Marbled Teal showing avoidance of medium-sized ponds, and White-headed Ducks strong selection for the largest ponds. Within ponds, Marbled Teal avoided open waters, and was mainly associated with Phragmites reedbeds, but also selected areas with saltmarsh and Scirpus vegetation, especially for brood-rearing. White-headed Duck made more use of deeper areas with open water, especially in winter, and Phragmites was the only emergent vegetation with which it associated. When breeding success was very high in 2000, strong creching of broods was observed in White-headed Duck, but not in Marbled Teal. In order to provide suitable habitat for both species, there is a need to maintain spatial diversity with a combination of large wetlands suitable for both species and small, vegetated ones suitable for the Marbled Teal.

Chelonians are among the animal groups with the poorest conservation status. Since tortoises are long-lived species that need very long time to reach sexual maturity, they are extremely vulnerable to human pressure. Despite their endangered status, there are no common strategies for the development of conservation actions. At the “Mediterranean workshop to develop tortoise conservation strategies”, scientists, conservation associations, environmental managers, IUCN advisers and CITES inspectors met in October 2019 in Alicante (Spain). The aims were to update the diagnosis of the conservation status of the Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and the spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) and to suggest strategies that guarantee their preservation at the Mediterranean Region. The main conclusions are summarized by: i) Mediterranean tortoises are wild endangered species that must be protected in, and together with, their natural habitat. Their main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation and pet trade, but we should also pay attention to wildfires, spread of diseases, the introduction of exotic species or lineages and climate change. ii) Long-term efforts and stablished protocols are needed to accurately diagnose and monitor the conservation status of wild populations, as well as flows among captive and wild animals. iii)  Tortoise trade should be banned because it threatens the conservation of wild populations of tortoises. Illegal practices related to tortoises should be decidedly persecuted. People should consider tortoises as wild animals that are endangered and deserving of protection. It is possible to enjoy them by responsibly observing them in their habitat. iv) Tortoises may carry pathogens or parasites and their sanitary status cannot be fully assessed. They should always be considered potential vectors of tortoise diseases and of zoonosis. Hygiene protocols should be implemented when managing them. v) The researchers attending this workshop aimed to develop a scientific network for the long-term monitoring of graeca and T. hermanni populations in the Mediterranean Region. They will need the support from public administrations.

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RESUMENCon la confección del presente catálogo se pretende recopilar la información faunís-tica disponible sobre las arañas de la Comunidad de Madrid, valorar el grado de conocimiento en el contexto de la fauna ibérica, así como impulsar los estudios encaminados a su conservación.Para su elaboración se han recopilado las citas publicadas, las citas inéditas de diferentes Tesis Doctorales y de licenciatura, el material identificado que se conserva en las colecciones del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales y los resultados de un muestreo puntual realizado por dos de los autores (M.A. Ferrández y H. Fernández de Céspedes) en las proximidades de San Agustín de Guadalix.La nomenclatura está basada tanto en el catálogo mundial de Platnick (2005) como en el realizado para la fauna ibero-balear por uno de los autores, Morano (2005), disponible actualmente en internet.Para cada especie se incluyen las localidades de captura, su coordenada UTM, el nombre con el que fue publicada la cita y la referencia bibliográfica o el museo donde esta depositado el material. También se añade un apartado de distribución donde se proporciona la distribución mundial y la ibérica.La fauna de arañas de Madrid cuenta en el momento actual con un total de 261 especies repartidas en 132 géneros de 36 familias distintas, de las cuales un total de 52 se publican por primera vez (las señaladas mediante un *). La conclusión general es que se poseen pocos datos de la mayoría de las especies, los datos que hay son en muchos casos antiguos y no aportan información relevante sobre los ciclos biológicos, ecología, etc. Sin duda quedan muchas especies por encontrar en la fauna madrileña y no es descabellado estimar entre 350 y 400 las especies totales de dicha fauna.También es de destacar la presencia de 24 endemismos ibéricos, algunos de ellos recolectados en fecha reciente, como Ozyptila umbraculorum ( ABSTRACT Catalogue of the spiders (Araneae) of Comunidad de MadridIn this catalogue we seek to compile information about spiders in Comunidad de Madrid in order to evaluate the level of our knowledge in the context of the Iberian fauna as well as to promote studies leading to their conservation. El catálogo esta estructurado en tres apartados: Nomenclatura, citas de la Comunidad de Madrid (CM) y distribución incluyendo para cada especie 1) el nombre valido, seguido del autor, año y referencia de su publicación, así como el nombre original con el fue descrito; 2) todas las citas de la Comunidad de Madrid por orden alfabético de localidad, indicando a) el nombre científico con el fue citado, b) la coordenada UTM de 10 km de lado, c) la referencia bibliográfica en la que se citó originalmente (no hemos creído oportuno incluir las citas que para una misma muestra -los mismos ejemplares, de la misma localidad y fecha-, se encuentran recogidas en diferentes publicaciones, ya que consideramos que no añaden más información faunística al catálogo), d) si el material se encuentra depositado en las colecciones del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), lo h...