Premium
Global Mammal Parasite Database version 2.0
Author(s) -
Stephens Patrick R.,
Pappalardo Paula,
Huang Shan,
Byers James E.,
Farrell Maxwell J.,
Gehman Alyssa,
Ghai Ria R.,
Haas Sarah E.,
Han Barbara,
Park Andrew W.,
Schmidt John P.,
Altizer Sonia,
Ezenwa Vanessa O.,
Nunn Charles L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1002/ecy.1799
Subject(s) - metadata , host (biology) , database , biology , download , mammal , species name , ecology , zoology , computer science , taxonomy (biology) , world wide web
Illuminating the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of parasites is one of the most pressing issues facing modern science, and is critical for basic science, the global economy, and human health. Extremely important to this effort are data on the disease‐causing organisms of wild animal hosts (including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, helminths, arthropods, and fungi). Here we present an updated version of the Global Mammal Parasite Database, a database of the parasites of wild ungulates (artiodactyls and perissodactyls), carnivores, and primates, and make it available for download as complete flat files. The updated database has more than 24,000 entries in the main data file alone, representing data from over 2700 literature sources. We include data on sampling method and sample sizes when reported, as well as both “reported” and “corrected” (i.e., standardized) binomials for each host and parasite species. Also included are current higher taxonomies and data on transmission modes used by the majority of species of parasites in the database. In the associated metadata we describe the methods used to identify sources and extract data from the primary literature, how entries were checked for errors, methods used to georeference entries, and how host and parasite taxonomies were standardized across the database. We also provide definitions of the data fields in each of the four files that users can download.