Integrated dataset on contaminant exposure, reproductive health, and environmental variables in the Baltic Sea (INSERT project)

This dataset was compiled within the INSERT project funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to support the integration of chemical and biological effect indicators under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Descriptor 8. It includes experimental and field data used to explore the relationships between chemical pressures, environmental variability, and reproductive health indicators in benthic and pelagic organisms. The dataset integrates: Field data on reproductive aberrations in Monoporeia affinis (ReproIND components), sediment contaminant concentrations (PAHs, metals, PCBs, etc.), and key abiotic parameters (temperature, salinity, oxygen, TOC, and depth) across multiple Baltic Sea basins (Bothnian Bay, Bothnian Sea, Western Gotland Basin, Gulfs of Finland and Riga). Experimental data on dose–response relationships in Daphnia magna, Chironomus riparius, and Lumbriculus variegatus exposed to PAH mixtures under varying temperature, nutritional, and metal co-exposure conditions, using chemical activity as the exposure metric. Derived indices, including: Chemical activity values for PAHs (calculated with Gobas et al. 2018 model parameters) Pollution Load Index (PLI) for trace metals ReproIND indicator values for reproductive aberrations Environmental and geospatial metadata, extracted from ICES DOME and SHARKweb repositories. The combined dataset underpins statistical and machine learning analyses (GLM, PLS-SEM, Decision Trees) used to identify association rules and thresholds for Good Environmental Status (GES) refinement.