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Aim The Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) are an inbred polygenic model of childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), which, as their non‐epileptic control (NEC) rats, are derived from Wistar rats. While the validity of GAERS in reproducing absence seizures is well established, its use as a model for CAE psychiatric comorbidities has been subject to conflicting findings. Differences in colonies, experimental procedures, and the use of diverse controls from different breeders may account for these disparities. Therefore, in this study, we compared GAERS, NEC, and Wistar bred in the same animal facility with commercially available Wistar (Cm Wistar) as a third control. Methods We performed hole board (HB) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests that were analyzed with standard quantitative and T‐pattern analysis in male, age‐matched Cm Wistar and GAERS, NEC, and Wistar, bred under the same conditions, to rule out the influence of different housing factors and provide extra information on the structure of anxiety‐like behavior of GAERS rats. Results Quantitative analysis showed that GAERS and NEC had similar low anxiety‐like behavior when compared to Cm Wistar but not to Wistar rats, although a higher hole‐focused exploration was revealed in NEC. T‐pattern analysis showed that GAERS, NEC, and Wistar had a similar anxiety status, whereas GAERS and NEC exhibited major differences with Cm Wistar but not Wistar rats. EPM results indicated that GAERS and NEC also have similar low anxiety compared to Cm Wistar and/or Wistar rats. Nevertheless, the analysis of the T‐pattern containing open‐arm entry showed GAERS and Wistar to be less anxious than NEC and Cm Wistar rats. Conclusion To summarize, comorbid anxiety may not be present in male GAERS rats. This study also highlighted the importance of including a control Wistar group bred under the same conditions when evaluating their behavior, as using Wistar rats from commercial breeders can lead to misleading results. GAERS have been suggested as a model for studying childhood absence epilepsy (CAE)‐associated psychiatric comorbidities. GAERS, non‐epileptic control (NEC), and Wistar rats were compared, along with commercially available Wistar rats (Cm Wistar) as a control. Anxiety‐like behavior was evaluated using hole board (HB) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests. T‐pattern analysis revealed similar anxiety status in GAERS, NEC, and Wistar rats, differing from Cm Wistars. EPM results showed lower anxiety levels in GAERS and Wistar rats compared to NEC rats and Cm Wistars. The study concluded that male GAERS rats from Malta colony lacked comorbid anxiety. It also highlighted the importance of using Wistar rats from the same breeding conditions to avoid misleading results.

Climate change poses significant threats to global biodiversity, particularly impacting arthropods due to their sensitivity to shifts in temperature and precipitation, as well as other environmental conditions. These changes impact the suitability of their habitats, alter ecological interactions, and consequently affect the distribution and survival of species. Understanding how climate variability influences the ecological niches of arthropods is crucial for predicting future biodiversity patterns and implementing effective conservation strategies. This study introduces a simple index designed to model species' distribution on the basis of their climatic niche, with a specific focus on terrestrial Mediterranean arthropods. This approach leverages regional climate model data to construct a climatology of a species's preferred habitat, based on historically observed locations. This index offers a straightforward and rapid means to assess the resilience and vulnerability of arthropod populations and could be applied to future studies aiming to shed light on how climate change could affect the fundamental niches of terrestrial arthropods. The analysis revealed that the method is most reliable for species with observations exceeding 1000 points and climate datasets of high resolutions (although the latter had a smaller influence on the results). This study offers a proof of concept for the proposed index, demonstrating its potential utility in guiding conservation strategies and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on arthropod habitats.