Dataset_Benthic_biodiversity_Lake_Orta

The dataset consists of 45 columns. The first columns contain identifiers and taxonomic classification fields. In particular, the dataset reports the occurrence ID and event ID, followed by taxonomic information including kingdom, phylum, class, subclass, order, family, and subfamily. Additional columns describe the accepted taxonomy, including the accepted genus name, subgenus, species epithet, scientific name, author(s) and date of first description, and taxon rank. Information on the original taxonomic attribution is also provided, including the original cited genus, original cited species epithet, and original name usage. The dataset also contains ecological and sampling information. These include the basis of record, year of publication, event date and year, organism quantity and its type (individuals or density), sampling strategy, and sampling zone. Geographical information is provided through locality, decimal latitude and longitude, geodetic datum, coordinate uncertainty, country, biogeographic region, mountain range, and administrative region. Additional environmental descriptors include minimum elevation, substrate type, and water transparency. Further columns describe lake characteristics, including EUNIS habitat code, lake type, maximum depth, and sampling depth. The dataset includes 6,981 records, distributed across 4 phyla, 7 classes, 26 orders, 58 families, and 143 genera. A total of 241 distinct scientific names are reported in the dataset. The dataset covers benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages belonging to four phyla: Annelida (50 distinct scientific names), Arthropoda (172 distinct scientific names), Mollusca (11 distinct scientific names), and Platyhelminthes (8 distinct scientific names). The numbers of distinct scientific names are based on the scientificName field and include records identified at different taxonomic levels. Taxonomic ranks: Data are reported at several taxonomic levels. The most common ranks are species and genus, but records are also reported at family, subfamily, subgenus, species aggregate, order, and subclass levels. Taxonomic methods: All original names reported in the source material were retained in the original_name_usage column. Scientific names were updated to the currently accepted nomenclature using the GBIF taxonomic backbone (https://www.gbif.org/) and the WoRMS catalogue for freshwater species (https://www.marinespecies.org/). The original taxonomic attribution is retained through the fields original_cited_genus, original_cited_species_epithet, and original_name_usage. All records have basisOfRecord = MaterialCitation, indicating that the occurrence information was extracted from published sources rather than being recorded as new field observations. Field Definitions — Benthic Biodiversity Lake Orta Dataset Field Definition occurrenceID Unique identifier code for the record (Darwin Core). eventID Identifier of the sampling event, combining locality, date, and sampling information. kingdom Accepted taxonomic kingdom. phylum Accepted taxonomic phylum. class Accepted taxonomic class. subclass Accepted taxonomic subclass, when available. order Accepted taxonomic order. family Accepted taxonomic family. subfamily Accepted taxonomic subfamily, when available. accepted_genus_name Genus of the accepted/valid taxonomic name. subgenus Subgenus of the accepted taxon, when available. accepted_species_epithet Species epithet of the accepted/valid name. author_s_and_date_of_1st_description Author(s) and year of the first description of the accepted taxon. taxon_rank Taxonomic level at which the occurrence was identified (e.g. species, genus, family, subfamily, subgenus, species aggregate, order, subclass). original_cited_genus Genus as cited in the original source, which may differ from the currently accepted genus following taxonomic revision. original_cited_species_epithet Species epithet as cited in the original source. original_name_usage Full scientific name as reported in the original source. scientificName Currently accepted scientific name associated with the record. basisOfRecord Type of source record. All records in the dataset are classified as MaterialCitation, indicating information extracted from published sources. year_of_publication Publication year of the source from which the record was obtained. eventDate Date of the observation or sampling event, following ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY-MM, or YYYY when only that precision is available). year Year of the sampling or observation event. organismQuantityType Type of organism quantity reported: individuals or density (ind/m2). organismQuantity Numeric value associated with the reported quantity. For records reported as individual occurrences without a quantified abundance, this field may be blank. samplingStrategy Sampling method or strategy reported in the source, where available (e.g. Grab, Handle Net, Quadrat, Sediment Excavation, Leaf Pack, Dredge, Traps). locality Name of the sampling site or locality. samplingZone Ecological zone of Lake Orta: Littoral, Sublittoral, or Profundal. decimalLatitude Geographic latitude of the sampling locality in decimal degrees (WGS84), rounded to four decimal places. decimalLongitude Geographic longitude of the sampling locality in decimal degrees (WGS84), rounded to four decimal places. geodeticDatum Geodetic reference system used for the geographic coordinates. All records use WGS84. coordinateUncertaintyInMeters Estimated spatial uncertainty of the geographic coordinates, in meters. minimumElevationInMeters Minimum elevation associated with the record, in meters. substrate Type of bottom substrate reported at the sampling site. associatedReferences Full bibliographic reference of the data source. country Country in which the sampling locality is located. biogeographic_region Biogeographic region of the sampling locality. mountain_range Mountain range associated with the sampling locality. administrative_region Administrative region containing the sampling locality. common_name Common type of water body. In this dataset, all records are associated with a lake (Lake). name Name of the water body. In this dataset, all records refer to Lake Orta (Orta). eunis_code EUNIS habitat classification code associated with the record. type_of_lake Origin/type of the lake. All records in the dataset refer to a natural lake. maximum_depth Maximum depth of Lake Orta, as reported in the dataset (143 m). sampling_depth Depth at which the sampling event was conducted, where available. water_transparency Observed water transparency. In the current dataset, the only reported category is Clear; the field is blank when transparency was not reported.