Metabarcoding benthic macroinvertebrates - assessing biodiversity at small spatial scales

This dataset is from a project using DNA metabarcoding to assess local macroinvertebrate biodiversity in streams at small spatial scales by taking repeated biological replicates 10 meters apart in 20 southern Ontario streams across a gradient of agricultural activity at three distinct seasonal time points. Our research focuses on the variability of community composition at small spatial scales in streams, an aspect of biomonitoring that is often neglected yet can have large consequences on the ecological conclusions drawn from a dataset. This dataset is informative for both community ecology and biomonitoring applications.