Data from: Species interactions in occurrence data for a community of tick-transmitted pathogens

Interactions between species of ticks, their realised range of hosts, the pathogens they carry and transmit, as well as the geographical distribution of species in the Western Palearctic, have been obtained based on evidence published between 1970–2014. These relationships were linked to remotely-sensed features of temperature and vegetation and used to extract the network of interactions among the organisms. The resulting datasets were focussed on niche overlap among ticks and hosts, species interactions and the fraction of the environmental niche where tick-borne pathogens may circulate, as a result of interactions and environmental trait overlap. The presented datasets provide a valuable resource for researchers of tick-borne pathogens, as they conciliate the abiotic and biotic sides of their niche, allowing exploration of the importance of each species of vertebrate reservoir in the circulation of tick-transmitted pathogens at intervals of the environmental niche.

本数据集基于1970年至2014年间发表的研究证据，整合了西古北界（Western Palearctic）内蜱类物种间的相互作用、蜱类的实际宿主范围、其携带与传播的病原体，以及各蜱类物种的地理分布情况。研究人员将上述物种关联关系与温度、植被的遥感（remotely-sensed）特征进行关联，并借此提取了这些生物间的相互作用网络。最终生成的数据集聚焦于蜱类与宿主间的生态位（niche）重叠、物种相互作用，以及因相互作用与环境性状重叠而可能发生蜱传病原体（tick-borne pathogens）循环的环境生态位区段。本数据集为蜱传病原体研究人员提供了宝贵的研究资源：其整合了生态位的非生物与生物维度，支持研究者在环境生态位的分段尺度下，探究各类脊椎动物储存宿主在蜱传病原体循环过程中的作用重要性。