Abundances of benthic invertebrates over a 5-year sampling period in a glacier-fed stream used for hydropower generation (South Tyrol, Italy)

Stream benthic macroinvertebrates have been collected for a period of 6 consecutive years (2010-2015, from April to September, during the glacial melting) along a longitudinal transect of the Saldur stream, a near pristine glacier-fed stream located in South Tyrol, Italy (46°N, 10° E), part of the International Long Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network (site code: LTER_EU_IT_100).Organisms were collected through Surber samplings (0.0506 squared metres, mesh size 500 µm) in 3 sites at different elevation and distance from the glacial source: Saldur 1 (2,030 m a.s.l.; 4.962 km), Saldur 2 (2,016 m a.s.l.; 5.325 km), Saldur 3 (1,645 m a.s.l.; 11.123 km).