Aquatic Insect Adult Metals Dataset: Urban and Forested Watersheds in the Piedmont of NC - 2021-2022

This dataset reports concentrations of 6 target trace metals (copper, zinc, nickel, lead, chromium, and selenium) in unfiltered water, emergent aquatic adult insects (by family), biofilm mats (predominately algae), and tree roots submerged under stream water. Biological and water samples were collected from three streams in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, USA: a wastewater dominated site (Ellerbe Creek, near the USGS gage at Glen Road ), a stormwater dominated site (Ellerbe Creek, near the USGS gage on Club Blvd), and a stream draining a predominately forested watershed (New Hope Creek, near a StreamPULSE site at Hollow Rock Preserve). This data was submitted for publication in a manuscript that explores how metals are transported by aquatic emergent insects from stream ecosystems into terrestrial food webs.