Integrating ecological niche and hydrological connectivity models to assess the impacts of hydropower plants on an endemic and imperiled freshwater turtle

We built this dataset to assess the impacts of hydropower plants on the distribution of an endemic and imperiled freshwater turtle with very unique ecological requirements, the Williams' side-necked turtle (Phrynops williamsi). To prevent and mitigate impacts, we prioritized sites for species conservation by classifying planned HPP locations according to their predicted adverse effects on species distribution. The dataset has two files: i) species occurrence records and ii) hydropower plant data. The first dataset was fully built by the authors and the second was modified from the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) georeferenced data system., Species occurrence records
We built a presence-only database based on our own fieldwork records, data from six scientific collections (i.e., Museu de Ciências Naturais da Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul, Museu de Ciências da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Museu de História Natural Capão da Imbuia, Colección de la Universidad de la República (Uruguay), Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay, University of Michigan Muzeum of Zoology, and Museo Miguel Lillo de Ciencias Naturales (Argentina)), and literature records with pictures or voucher specimens that allowed validation of species taxonomic identification. The identification of the specimens was checked because P. williamsi occurs in sympatry with P. hilarii in Rio Grande do Sul and P. geoffroanus in Paraná, which refutes the observation that the species does not occur in sympatry with other congeners, as mentioned by Rhodin and Mittermeier (1983). Part of the species-occurrence dataset was pub...,