A dataset of fish assemblages and environmental variables in the Chishui River basin, China

In April of 2007, field surveys of fish assemblages were conducted at 31 locations. Each sampling location was a 200-500 m stretch encompassing all types of geomorphological forms in the river channel (e.g. riffles, runs, and pools). Two commonly utilized electrofishing protocols were applied to maximize the capture of fish. Specifically, for shallow water locations, fish specimens were collected by means of backpack electrofishing. The crew sampled the reach in an upstream direction with two passes. For non-wadable areas, boat electrofishing was applied by moving the boat slowly in a downstream direction. All collected fish were identified to species level, measured, and weighed. Most individuals were released to the sampling sites, and a subset of fish species was fixed in 7% formalin for final preservation.Several environmental variables were recorded in situ after fish collection. Water temperature (℃), pH, dissolved oxygen (mgL-1), and conductivity (µScm-1) were measured by using a multi-parametric probe (WTW Multi 340i). Water depth (m) and channel width (m) were calculated using a depth sounder, and a Leica CRF900 rangefinder camera, respectively. An altimeter was used to measure altitude (m). Current velocity (ms-1) was determined using a flowmeter device. The percentage of substrate particle size was visually estimated and divided into four types: sand, silt, cobble, and boulder. File description:fish_abundance_data.csv31 sites (rows) × 62 species (columns) community matrix fish_trait_data.csv62 species (rows) × 9 functional traits (columns) matrix site_environment_data.csv31 sites (rows) × 12 environmental variables (columns) matrix fish_model_data.csvoccupancy, total mean abundance, niche position, niche breadth, trait vector 1, trait vector 2, trait vector 3, trait vector 4 and one phylogenetic vector for each fish species