Fig. 6From: Distributional ecology of Andes hantavirus: a macroecological approachProposed framework for the hantavirus system. The figure illustrates three scales (rectangles) of hantavirus occurrence. The reservoir’s niche comprises the set of abiotic environmental conditions required by each of the rodent species to maintain populations in the long term (light green circle). Hantavirus’ niche is the set of suitable abiotic environmental conditions necessary for hantavirus at coarse (e.g., climate) and fine scales (e.g., host internal temperature; dark green circle). Finally, a “niche” may characterize conditions apt for transmission to humans: sites where rodents and hantavirus co-occur, and in which susceptible humans are able to be infected (red circle). Elements influencing gaps between scales are shown in italics. At the right, elements that may affect overall processesBack to article page