Zooplankton standing stock biomass and population density: data from long-term studies covering changes in trophy and climate impact of a deep subalpine lake (Lake Maggiore, Italy)

Lake Maggiore is a deep subalpine lake well studied since last century thanks to a monitoring program funded by the International Commission for the protection of Italian-Swiss Waters. The monitoring program includes both abiotic and biotic parameters, including zooplankton pelagic organism. With this contribution we present a dataset of 15563 records of population densities and standing stock biomass of zooplankton pelagic taxa recorded in 43 years (1981-2023), useful to trace the changes in trophic conditions experienced by the lake in the last century (eutrophication and its reversal) and the impact of global warming. The estimation of zooplankton taxa abundance and their standing stock biomass is also crucial to quantify the flux of matter, energy and pollutants to the upper trophic levels of the food web. In addition, we also provide information about the ecological role of zooplankton taxa, grouping them in microphagus, primary and secondary consumers, making data eligible also for food web analysis.