Find research datasets worth reusing

openCC (other)Dec 2025View details →

GPH01 Grazing management effects on pollinator communities and habitat at Konza Prairie, 2024-2025

For all data files, data were collected in Konza Prairie LTER sites: N1A, N1B, C1A, K1B, and 1D during May, July, and August in both 2024 and 2025. The goal was to investigate variation in pollinator foraging and nesting habitat and in foraging and nesting pollinator communities across grazing regimes. Details for each file follow: 1. Plant-pollinator interactions (file = pollinatorNetworks); 2. Bees collected from ground nests (file = nestingBees); 3. Floral resources observed along transects (file = floralResources); 4. Bare ground cover and vegetation height measured along transects (file = otherHabitat); 5. Soil characteristics (file = soils)

Primary Production and Species Richness in Lake Communities 1997 - 2000

An understanding of the relationship between species richness and productivity is crucial to understanding biodiversity in lakes. We investigated the relationship between the primary productivity of lake ecosystems and the number of species for lacustrine phytoplankton, rotifers, cladocerans, copepods, macrophytes, and fish. Our study includes two parts: (1) a survey of 33 well-studied lakes for which data on six major taxonomic groups were available; and (2) a comparison of the effects of short- and long-term whole-lake nutrient addition on primary productivity and planktonic species richness Dodson, Stanley I., Shelley E. Arnott, and Kathryn L. Cottingham. 2000. The relationship in lake communities between primary productivity and species richness. Ecology 81:2662-79. Number of sites: 33

Zooplankton Communities of Restored Depressional Wetlands in Wisconsin - North Temperate Lakes LTER 1998

Wisconsin has lost approximately 2 million hectares of wetland since statehood (1848). Through the combined efforts of state and federal agencies and private groups focused primarily on wetland restoration for waterfowl habitat management or compensatory mitigation, a fairly substantial gain in wetland area has been achieved. Much of the wetland restoration effort in Wisconsin has occurred on formerly agricultural lands. However, due to the nature of the past disturbance and possible residual effects not corrected by simply returning surface waters to these lands, there is some question regarding the resultant wetland quality or biological integrity. In an effort aimed at developing tools to measure wetland gains in terms of quality or ecological integrity, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) initiated a study of biological communities on restored wetlands in Wisconsin. We report on the community of microcrustaceans and arthropods that can be collected with a plankton net in open water in wetlands. We examined zooplankton community structure in restored wetlands in terms of richness, taxonomic representation, and Daphnia sexual reproduction and related these metrics to attributes on wetlands representing least-disturbed conditions and agriculturally impacted wetlands. We sampled 56 palustrine wetlands distributed across Wisconsin. These wetland sites were categorized as agricultural, least-impacted, and restored (recently withdrawn from agricultural usage). The wetlands were reasonably homogeneous in many ways, so that taxon richness was not correlated with basin origin, presence of adjacent roads, presence or absence of fish, water chemistry, or the size of the open water. We identified a total of 40 taxa.. We conclude that restoration of wetland watersheds works. Withdrawal of the watershed from agricultural usage is followed by an increase in taxon richness, and the sites resembled least-impacted sites in about 6-7 years. Dodson, S. I. and R. A.

openCC (other)Dec 2022View details →

Microbial Observatory at North Temperate Lakes LTER Time series of bacterial community dynamics in Lake Mendota 2000 - 2009

With an unprecedented decade-long time series from a temperate eutrophic lake, we analyzed bacterial and environmental co-occurrence networks to gain insight into seasonal dynamics at the community level. We found that (1) bacterial co-occurrence networks were non-random, (2) season explained the network complexity and (3) co-occurrence network complexity was negatively correlated with the underlying community diversity across different seasons. Network complexity was not related to the variance of associated environmental factors. Temperature and productivity may drive changes in diversity across seasons in temperate aquatic systems, much as they control diversity across latitude. While the implications of bacterioplankton network structure on ecosystem function are still largely unknown, network analysis, in conjunction with traditional multivariate techniques, continues to increase our understanding of bacterioplankton temporal dynamics.

openCC (other)Dec 2022View details →

Microbial Observatory at North Temperate Lakes LTER High-resolution temporal and spatial dynamics of microbial community structure in freshwater bog lakes 2005 - 2009 original format

The North Temperate Lakes - Microbial Observatory seeks to study freshwater microbes over long time scales (10+ years). Observing microbial communities over multiple years using DNA sequencing allows in-depth assessment of diversity, variability, gene content, and seasonal/annual drivers of community composition. Combining information obtained from DNA sequencing with additional experiments, such as investigating the biochemical properties of specific compounds, gene expression, or nutrient concentrations, provides insight into the functions of microbial taxa. Our 16S rRNA gene amplicon datasets were collected from bog lakes in Vilas County, WI, and from Lake Mendota in Madison, WI. Ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing of freshwater environmental DNA was performed on samples from Crystal Bog, North Sparkling Bog, West Sparkling Bog, Trout Bog, South Sparkling Bog, Hell’s Kitchen, and Mary Lake. These microbial time series are valuable both for microbial ecologists seeking to understand the properties of microbial communities and for ecologists seeking to better understand how microbes contribute to ecosystem functioning in freshwater.

openCC (other)Dec 2022View details →

Madison community science field campaign to assess abundance and distribution of invasive jumping worms.

Asian pheretimoid earthworms of the genera Amynthas and Metaphire (jumping worms) are leading a new wave of co-invasion into Northeastern and Midwestern states, with potential consequences for native organisms and ecosystem processes. However, little is known about their distribution, abundance, and habitat preferences in urban landscapes – areas which likely influence range expansion via human-driven spread. We led a participatory field campaign to assess jumping worm distribution and abundance in Madison, Wisconsin in September of 2017. By compressing 250 person-hours of sampling effort into a single day, we quantified presence and abundance of three jumping worm species across different land-cover types (forest, grassland, open space, residential lawns and gardens), finding that urban green spaces differed in invasibility. We show that community science can be powerful for researching invasive species while engaging the public in conservation. This approach was particularly effective here, where broad spatial sampling was required within a short temporal window.

Microbial Community Composition in Lakes - Taxonomic/Ecological characteristics of the sample at North Temperate Lakes LTER 2000 - 2007

Microbial community composition is inferred by a combination of automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and PCR-generated clone library analysis. Clone libraries include both the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S ribosomal intergenic spacer fragment. Phylogenetic assignments for individual ARISA fragments are obtained by comparing the ARISA fragment length from each clone to all of the profiles stored in our database. We have analyzed over 3900 clones obtained from 41 lakes that represent the range of trophic types found in temperate landscapes. Querying by a combination of taxonomic and ecological characteristics of the sample allows the user to retrieve sample information [sample IDs, sample dates, lake information (region, type, size, depth) and physical/chemical data (water temperature, clarity, pH, DOC, SUVA, TN, TP, nitrates/nitrites)] and clone information [clone IDs, sequence data, and characteristics of the sequence (length, chimera status, accession number, taxonomic affiliation)]. The data can be filtered by ecological characteristics of the sample [lake name, sample date, lake information (region, type, size, depth)] and taxonomic characteristics of the community members [clone ID, ARISA fragment length (raw or binned), and/or taxonomic characteristics (Phylum and Phylum-Class)]. The output can include links to individual sample records, which contain links to the taxonomic composition of the sample inferred by dynamically matching clones to ARISA fragments in the individual sample. The output can also include links to clone records directly (though this creates a very large number of lines in the output and is not recommended). Project ID's 30 Lakes - Survey of 30 lakes in northern and southern Wisconsin. June, August and October, 2002. See http://microbes.limnology.wisc.edu/lakes30.html. Lake Characteristics. CB0000 - Time series monitoring microbial community composition in Crystal Bog. 2000-2002. CBX_02 - Food web manipulation experiment i

Microbial Community Composition in lakes - Ecological characteristics of the sample at North Temperate Lakes LTER 2002 - 2007

Microbial Community Composition in Lakes - Taxonomic characteristics of the clones at North Temperate Lakes LTER 2000 - 2007

openCC (other)Jul 2025View details →

Zooplankton community composition and trait data for Green Lakes Valley, 2009 - ongoing.

Starting in 2012 zooplankton sampling at Green Lake 4 was included in the long term monitoring data set at Niwot Ridge. Immediately after the ice has completely melted from the lakes, zooplankton samples are taken once a week for six consecutive weeks at the deepest portion of the lake from an inflatable raft. Zooplankton were sampled at the deepest location of each lake by pulling a conical net (Wisconsin net) vertically through the water column (i.e., vertical tow sample). For each zooplankton sample obtained, adult organisms were identified to species, or lowest taxonomic level (Chydoridae sp. and Bosminidae sp.). Larvae of cladocerans were counted together as neonates; calanoid and cyclopoid copepodites were counted together as nauplii. Individual body lengths of the first 50 -100 (when possible) individuals of each taxon were recorded using a calibrated eyepiece micrometer and means reported.

openCC (other)May 2025View details →

SBC LTER: Reef: Seasonal Kelp Forest Community Dynamics: biomass of kelp forest species, ongoing since 2008

These data represent values of biomass density for more than 200 species of macroalgae, invertebrates and fish measured in fixed plots at five reefs as part of SBCLTER's seasonal kelp forest monitoring program to track long-term patterns in species abundance and diversity. Taxon-specific relationships between size and mass were applied to field measurements of species abundance to estimate biomass density of each species. The five reefs (Arroyo Quemada 34°28.048’N, 120°07.031’W; Carpinteria 34°23.474’N, 119°32.510’W; Isla Vista 34°23.275’N, 119°32.792’W; Mohawk 34°23.649’N, 119°43.762’W; and Naples 34° 25.342’N, 119° 57.102’W) ranged in depth from 5.8 m to 8.9 m (MLLW) and were chosen to represent a range of physical and biological characteristics known to influence subtidal macroalgal assemblages in the region.

openCC (other)May 2025View details →

SBC LTER: Reef: Seasonal Kelp Forest Community Dynamics: Taxon-specific seasonal net primary production (NPP) for macroalgae

This dataset provides estimates of seasonal net primary production (NPP) for all taxa of macroalgae sampled in fixed plots of the SBC LTER's seasonal kelp forest monitoring sites. The five reefs (Arroyo Quemada 34°28.048’N, 120°07.031’W; Carpinteria 34°23.474’N, 119°32.510’W; Isla Vista 34°23.275’N, 119°32.792’W; Mohawk 34°23.649’N, 119°43.762’W; and Naples 34° 25.342’N, 119° 57.102’W) ranged in depth from 5.8 m to 8.9 m (MLLW) and were chosen to represent a range of physical and biological characteristics known to influence subtidal macroalgal assemblages in the region. NPP of understory taxa was calculated using field measurements of irradiance and biomass (derived from abundance) and laboratory estimates of taxon-specific photosynthetic parameters. NPP for the giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, was calculated using linear relationships between frond density in a given season and average NPP for that season.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

EOSC Task Force on FAIR Metrics and Data Quality: FAIR Evaluation community survey 2023

The EOSC-A FAIR Metrics and Data Quality Task Force (TF) supported the European Open Science Cloud Association (EOSC-A) by providing strategic directions on FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and data quality. The Task Force conducted a survey using the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/">EUsurvey tool</a> between 15.11.2022 and 18.01.2023, targeting both developers and users of FAIR assessment tools. The survey aimed at supporting the harmonisation of FAIR assessments, in terms of what it evaluated and how, across existing (and future) tools and services, as well as explore if and how a community-driven governance on these FAIR assessments would look like. The survey received 78 responses, mainly from academia, representing various domains and organisational roles. This is the anonymised survey dataset in csv format; most open-ended answers have been dropped. The codebook contains variable names, labels, and frequencies.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Pawpaws prevent predictability: A locally-dominant tree alters understory beta-diversity and community assembly

Data used in "Pawpaws Prevent Predictability: A locally-dominant tree alters understory beta-diversity and community assembly" (Wassel and Myers) accepted for publication in Ecosphere. Metadata for Zenodo.pdf contains more information on the following data files including descriptions of the columns.  The file understory_abundance_data2021.csv contains all species abundances in 1x1m plots. This data was used for analyses in publication. Each row is a plot, each column is a speceis or plot descriptor, values for columns 5 and higher are species abundances. Data was collected July-August 2021 by Anna Wassel in Missouri, USA.  The file understory_species_list2021.csv contains a list of the species codes used in the first file with their scientific names and their status as herbs or woody. This was used to filter out herbaceous species from the data set for herbaceous-only analyses.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2024View details →

Vegetation survey (BACI and Paired-plots) from arid central Australia for impacts of buffel grass on resident native plant communities

The data set accompanies the accepted paper in Ecosphere. The data set includes two experimental appraoches to assess the spread and impacts of buffel grass, Cenchrus cilairis, in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of arid central Australia: a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) experiment over 25 years at 15 sites (surveyed in 1994-95 and 2018-19), and a spatially paired-plot (randomised-block) experiment at 18 sites (surveyed in 2018-19). Both experiments spanned two geographic regions (~ 300 km apart) and multiple vegetation communities amongst flat plains and rocky hills landforms. Each experimental design has a plant species data set, and a data set that includes site variables and summed relative cover of plant functional groups. Data collection methodology is described in the accompanying paper, and summarised here. Each site was one hectare in size. The ecological data was collected in accordance with standard biological survey methods in South Australia (Heard and Channon 1997), including recording of plant species and cover abundance, life form, height class and habitat variables including percent bare earth, litter, rock/strew and soil type (clay percent). Fire history for the previous 25 years was also available from fire scar mapping. Species cover-abundance was estimated in the field using a modified Braun-Blanquet scale and later converted to a raw continuous variable based on the mid-point of the cover class: 1% (1-10 plants, <5% cover); 2% (sparsely present, <5% cover; 3% (plentiful but <5% cover); 15% (5 to 25% cover class); 37% (25 to 50% cover class); 63% (50 to 75% cover class).  Buffel grass was recorded on the same scale. Plant species were vouchered and identification checked post-field by the South Australian Hebarium. Plant taxonomy reflects current names (as of 2015) in the Biological Databases of South Australia and taxonomy was aligned between the 1990s and 2020s decades. Recently some species have been split into multiple species (e.g. Acacia aneura, Mulga) but this latest taxonomy was not adopted to retain taxonomic alignment within the dataset. The raw mid-point percent cover was converted to relative percent cover by dividing each species’ (or groups’) raw cover by the summed cover of all species at that site (including buffel grass + understorey + overstorey species). Classification of plants into functional groups was based on field assessed (1) height class + (2) life form, and literature-derived (3) life strategy (perennial or annual) + (4) Native status to South Australia. Height classes were grouped into overstorey (>1m in height) and understorey (≤1m). Summed relative cover for each functional group per site is included in the site and cover data sets to facilitate modelling of cover with site variables. The plant species data sets is the full list of species and cover abundance recorded at each site which can be used for analysis of community composition, diversity, turnover or individual species change. Sensitive species (one species in this dataset) has had the coordinates denatured by 10km due according to the requirements of the Biological Database of South Australia for sensitive species. All coordinates provided in MGA 52 Eastings and Northings (UTM, Australian National Grid).  The authors wish to acknowledge Traditional Owners and Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands Organisation who gave permission for collaboration, data collection, photographs and reporting on and about their Traditional Lands. Data is jointly the Intellectual Property of Aṉangu as the Traditional Owners and the author team, and approval has been granted for research and publication use with appropriate acknowledgment of Aṉangu and the author team. The 1990s baseline data is also the Intellectual Property of the South Australian Government and is made publicly available under a licencing agreement with the Biological Databases of South Australia (licence number 2412). Many people assisted in the field during the 1990s and 2020s vegetation surveys and are wholly acknowledged. APY Land Management, Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board, Central Land Council, Ten Deserts Project, Charles Darwin University, South Australian Department for Environment and Water, State Herbarium of South Australia, Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, Jill Landsberg Trust and Ecological Society of Australia all provided either funding and/or in-kind support of the project. Study conducted with APY Executive Board approval, South Australian Scientific Permit Q26782 and Northern Territory Wildlife Permit 63104.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2022View details →

COSN paper data (The Chinese Open Science Network (COSN): Building an Open Science community from scratch)

This is the dataset for generating figure1 and figure 3 in the manuscript The Chinese Open Science Network (COSN): Building an Open Science community from scratch (Accepted by AMPPS). Preprint at: <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ac9by">https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ac9by</a>. All the data and codes are available in repo: <a href="https://github.com/OpenSci-CN/COSN_AMPPS_Paper">COSN_AMPPS_Paper</a> Accepted Version.

openCC (other)Jun 2025View details →

City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities, Delta Plant Communities 1988-2007, Cedar River Municipal Watershed, King County, WA

Seattle Public Utilities manages the Cedar River Municipal Watershed and reservoir, Chester Morse Lake, to provide drinking water for 1.6 million residents in the greater Seattle area. The Cedar and Rex rivers are the two largest tributaries to Chester Morse Lake and flow over broad, low-gradient deltas. The deltas have mostly fine sediments, sinuous low-flow channels, and an extensive wetland complex with aquatic, herbaceous, shrub, and forest components. Delta plant communities were mapped in 1988, 1996, and 2007 using aerial photography. Plant communities were ground-truthed and boundaries and classification of polygons were corrected where errors were evident. Plant communities were classified into major structural classes, including herbaceous, shrub, deciduous forest, mixed deciduous/conifer forest, and conifer forest. A system of permanent plots was established on the Cedar and Rex river deltas and measured in 1988, 1996, and 2007. Transects comprised of sample plots every 25 meters were surveyed for herbaceous and shrub cover. An additional transect was established in the floodplain of the Cedar River through mixed deciduous and conifer forest to measure tree diameter at breast height and species. This package is complete, and the data were analyzed to evaluate the potential for future adverse impacts to delta plant communities resulting from changes to the reservoir operating regime.

openCC (other)Aug 2022View details →

Journey North - Oriole observations by volunteer community scientists across Central and North America (1997-2020)

This data package contains oriole migration data consisting of 14,476 total observational reports from 1997 - 2020 across North and Central America. These data were collected by 7,331 community scientists for Journey North, a crowdsourced participatory science program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. The Journey North Oriole Project is an ongoing study of oriole phenology conducted at broad spatial and temporal scales. Since 1997, community scientists have tracked first arrival dates and breeding and feeding behavior as well as the onset of fall migration and presence of oriole species throughout the winter months in the United States. Focal species are the Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii), and Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius fuertesi). Observers also provide estimates of the number of birds sighted. However, observers do not follow standardized methods for counting species observed. Observers do not observe at set times of the day, do not repeat observations regularly, and are not required to provide the length of time during which a specified number of species observed were counted. Therefore, it is recommended that this dataset be analyzed to indicate presence not abundance. Researchers are encouraged to read the rich information provided by volunteers in their comments. These comments provide qualitative information about observational reports. Researchers are also encouraged to refer to submitted photographs that also provide context for observational reports. The Journey North Oriole Project dataset is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Shared Web Hosting Service.

openCC (other)Aug 2022View details →

Journey North - Common Loon and Ice-Out observations by volunteer community scientists across North America (1997-2020)

This data package contains Common Loon migration and ice melt data consisting of 9,800 total observational reports from 1997 - 2020 across North America. These data were collected by 1,437 community scientists for Journey North, a crowdsourced participatory science program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. The Journey North Loon and Ice-Out Project is an ongoing study of loon and ice melt phenology conducted at broad spatial and temporal scales. Since 1997, community scientists have tracked first arrival dates of Common Loons (Gavia immer) and ice that has melted from bodies of water in the United States. Observers also provide estimates of the number of birds sighted. However, observers do not follow standardized methods for counting species observed. Observers do not observe at set times of the day, do not repeat observations regularly, and are not required to provide the length of time during which a specified number of species observed were counted. Therefore, it is recommended that this dataset be analyzed to indicate presence not abundance. Researchers are encouraged to read the rich information provided by volunteers in their comments. These comments provide qualitative information about observational reports. Researchers are also encouraged to refer to submitted photographs that also provide context for observational reports. The Journey North Common Loon and Ice-Out Project Project dataset is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Shared Web Hosting Service.