What can an invasive dung beetle tell us about niche conservatism?

Does climatic niche change during invasion? We used Digitonthophagus gazella (F.) as a model to test the niche conservatism hypothesis and found out that climatic niche was stable between native and invasive ranges of this exotic dung beetle. Distribution maps based either on native or invasive occurrences exhibited the same picture of a widespread dung beetle restricted by areas with low precipitation and cold temperatures. We believe that this species opportunistic behavior is one of the main reasons behind this pattern. We suggest that use of native occurrences to predict a potential risk of biological invasions is a useful tool. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved.