Macroinvertebrate composition of Welsh upland rivers in response to organic matter addition (2013)

These data are macroinvertebrate composition and size in eight Welsh upland rivers with contrasting land-use, moorland and exotic conifer, in response to riparian deciduous leaf addition. Eight sampling reaches were chosen at two sites, Llyn Brianne (4 reaches) and Plynlimon (4 reaches). The experiment consisted of adding deciduous leaves to half of the reaches whilst the other half were maintained as a control (no addition of deciduous leaves). To characterise the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of the studied streams, Surber net sampling was used to collect monthly samples during 2013 in January (before deciduous leaf addition) and from February to April (after deciduous leaf addition) in each sampling reach. Some of the collected individuals were used to characterise the invertebrate biomass of each reach.

The main goal of this survey was to examine how aquatic biodiversity responds to leaf addition in moorland and conifer forested rivers. Dr Isabelle Durance was responsible for organising the surveys, Dr Hugh Feeley and Marian Pye, were in charge of collecting, processing and sorting the invertebrate samples. The work was carried out under Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project (Grant reference NERC NE/J014818/1). DURESS was a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme.

本数据集记录了威尔士8条高地河流中大型无脊椎动物的群落组成与个体大小特征，这些河流具有鲜明对比的土地利用类型（荒地与外来针叶林），旨在探究其对河岸落叶添加的响应。研究在两个地点共选取8个采样段：Llyn Brianne（4个）与Plynlimon（4个）。实验设计为向半数采样段添加落叶，另一半作为对照（不添加落叶）。为表征所研究溪流的底栖大型无脊椎动物群落，2013年期间每月采用Surber网采样法（Surber net sampling）于各采样段收集样本，采样时间为1月（落叶添加前）及2月至4月（落叶添加后）。部分采集个体用于测定各采样段的无脊椎动物生物量。
本研究的核心目标是探究荒地与针叶林河流中水生生物多样性对落叶添加的响应机制。Isabelle Durance博士负责调查的组织工作，Hugh Feeley博士与Marian Pye则承担无脊椎动物样本的采集、处理及分类任务。本研究依托高地河流生态系统服务可持续性多样性（Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability, DURESS）项目开展（资助编号：NERC NE/J014818/1）。DURESS项目由自然环境研究委员会（Natural Environment Research Council, NERC）旗下的生物多样性与生态系统服务可持续性（Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability, BESS）计划资助。