Set of abundance data of the families of aquatic macroinvertebrates, biotic integrity, physicochemical variables and habitat, of rivers of the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Querétaro, 2016 & 2022.

We collected the data in two independent time moments during dry seasons (May-Jun 2016 and May-Jun 2022). The macroinvertebrate samples were collected using a D-net (300 mm of diameter and 300 μm of mesh size) in all available habitats with a sample effort of 90 minute. The taxonomic determination of macroinvertebrates was made to the level of family based on specialized keys. The data of habitat condition was obtained by the application of the visual-based habitat assessment (VBHA) proposed by Barbour et al. (1999) that includes variables such as sinuosity, materials of the substrate and the banks, sediment retention points, condition of riparian vegetation and riparian zone, and the status of the floodplain. The condition of the chemical factor was assessed by chemical and physical water characteristics measured with a multimeter (Hach Hydromet Quanta, Loveland, Colorado, USA) including pH, dissolved oxygen (mg/L), total dissolved solids (ppm), and temperature (°C). The index of biotic integrity was calculated based on freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages (IIBAMA) created by Pérez-Munguía and Pineda-López (2005) and validated by Torres-Olvera et al. (2018), includes six attributes that change with habitat degradation or pollution. The attributes are the richness of taxa (RT), Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera richness (REPT), the richness of sensitive insects (RII), the richness of sensitive taxa (TI), and the number of fixed taxa to a substrate (#TF).The data were obtained in one subtropical river drainage of Central Mexico, the Pánuco River drainage. This zone has a semi-arid area in the northwest and south, and a subtropical area in the northeastern part, located on the eastern part of Sierra Madre and neovolcanic belt. It shows an altitude range from 295 to 2265 m.o.s.l. (meters over sea level). We selected a total of 15 study sites including mainstreams such as Santa María River, Extoraz River, Verde River and tributary rivers such as Jalpan River, Ayutla River, Concá River, Oasis River, Escanela River and Tancuilín River in the state of Querétaro, Mexico.