Information on the distribution, occurrence, and abundance of zooplankton in the basin of the Middle Volga River, Russia

The presented dataset contains information on the distribution and species composition of zooplankton (rotifers and crustaceans) registered in the basin of the Middle Volga River, Russia. The studies have been performed in the Kuibyshev Reservoir (Samara Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan), the Saratov Reservoir (Samara Oblast), in several lakes (Raifskoe, Gniloe, Krugloe, and Lenevo) in the Volzhsko-Kamsky State Biosphere Reserve (Republic of Tatarstan), and in Lake Aslikul, one of the largest lakes of the Middle Volga River basin, located in the Asly-Kul Natural Park (Republic of Bashkortostan). The hydrobiological data were obtained and published from 1957 to 2020. In total, the dataset includes 5141 records of 111 zooplankton species (including 17 subspecies), belonging to 45 genera while naturalized species and invasive species (less than 1.5%).