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Edwards, F.K.; Webb, G.; Scarlett, P.; Baker, R.; Vincent, H.; Bowes, M.

Macroinvertebrates of the river Thames catchments UK: taxon data

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This dataset is made available under the terms of the Open Government Licence

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https://doi.org/10.5285/5700501d-feb4-445d-aa08-81a158e54bac
Data comprise species level descriptions of macroinvertebrate communities and habitat descriptions from wadeable rivers of the Thames catchment, in the United Kingdom (UK), sampled over three seasons in the years 2009 - 2010.
Publication date: 2016-09-17

Format

Comma-separated values (CSV)

Spatial information

Study area
Spatial representation type
Tabular (text)
Spatial reference systems
OSGB 1936 / British National Grid
WGS 84

Temporal information

Temporal extent
2009-03-31    to    2010-11-01

Provenance & quality

The waterbodies studied are rivers of the Thames catchment, UK. Dataset comprises eighteen sampling sites, sampling took place in Autumn 2009, Spring 2010 and Autumn 2010. Not all sites were sampled on all occasions (see supporting documentation).

Macroinvertebrates were sampled using a 1mm mesh kick net following the RIvPACS field protocol as described in: Murray-Bligh, J. A. D., Furse, M. T., Jones, F. H., Gunn, R. J. M., Dines, R. A. & Wright, J. F. (1997) Procedure for collecting and analysing macro-invertebrate samples for RIVPACS. Environment Agency and Institute of Freshwater Ecology, Bristol, UK

Site variables (depth, width, substrate cover, macrophyte cover) were also recorded as described in the above document.

Samples were washed into plastic sample bags, labelled and preserved with a 4% formaldehyde solution in the field. In the laboratory, samples were washed through a 500 μm sieve and all macroinvertebrates were picked from the samples and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible, usually species. Valid taxonomic names and unique taxon identification codes were provided in: Davies, C. and Edwards, F.K. (2011) Code list for recording the macroinvertebrates in freshwater in the British Isles. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford.

Data entry was validated by crosschecking data print outs with laboratory sheets.

Map variables were derived for those point locations using the Intelligent River Network (Version 17), which was first described in: Dawson, F.H., Hornby, D.D. and Hilton, J. (2002), A method for the automated extraction of environmental variables to help the classification of rivers in Britain. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst., 12: 391-403. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.534

Sample identifiers:
Samples are defined by unique combination of the site code and the sample date. A key to site codes is provided by downloading supporting documentation.

Column headings in taxon dataset:
Column Content
A Site code
B Sample date
C Season (A, autumn; S, spring)
D Taxon code as per Davies and Edwards (2011)
E Taxon name as per Davies and Edwards (2011)
F Life stage (L, larva/nymph; P, pupa; A, adult; U, life stage not relevant)
G Abundance in sample

Licensing and constraints

This dataset is made available under the terms of the Open Government Licence

Cite this dataset as:
Edwards, F.K.; Webb, G.; Scarlett, P.; Baker, R.; Vincent, H.; Bowes, M. (2016). Macroinvertebrates of the river Thames catchments UK: taxon data. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/5700501d-feb4-445d-aa08-81a158e54bac

© UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Correspondence/contact details

Francois Edwards
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford
Wallingford
Oxfordshire
OX10 8BB
UNITED KINGDOM
 enquiries@ceh.ac.uk

Authors

Edwards, F.K.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Webb, G.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Scarlett, P.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Baker, R.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Vincent, H.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Bowes, M.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Other contacts

Rights holder
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk
Publisher
NERC Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk

Additional metadata

Topic categories
biota
INSPIRE theme
Environmental Monitoring Facilities
Keywords
Biological Quality , Catchment , Environmental survey , invertebrate , river , Time Series , Water quality
Last updated
06 March 2024 15:39