Benthic invertebrates are important trophic links in food webs and useful bioindicators of environmental conditions, but long‐term benthic organism abundance data across broad geographic areas are rare and historic datasets are often not readily accessible. This dataset provides densities of benthic macroinvertebrates collected from 1930 to 2019 during surveys in Lake Erie, a Laurentian Great Lake. The surveys were funded by the governments of the United States and Canada to investigate the status and changes in the benthic community. From the total of 21 lake‐wide and basin‐wide benthic surveys conducted in Lake Erie from 1929 to 2019, we were able to acquire data for 17 surveys, including species‐level data for 10 surveys and data by higher taxonomic groups for seven surveys. Our amassed Lake Erie dataset includes data from 11 surveys (including five with species‐level data) conducted in the western basin in 1930–2019, seven surveys (six with species‐level data) in the central basin, and eight surveys (seven with species‐level data) in the eastern basin (1973–2019). This Lake Erie dataset represents the most extensive temporal dataset of benthic invertebrates available for any of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Benthic samples were collected using Ponar or Shipek bottom dredges and taxa densities were calculated as individuals per square meter using the area of the dredge. Density data are provided for taxa in the Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Cnidaria, Nemertea, and Platyhelminthes phyla. Current taxonomy was used for most groups but, in a few cases, older taxonomic names were used for consistency with historical data. Analysis of this dataset indicates that eutrophication, water quality improvement, and dreissenid introduction were the major drivers of changes in the benthic community in the western basin, while hypoxia was a major factor in the central basin, and dreissenid introduction was the most important driver in the eastern basin. Considering the rarity of high taxonomic resolution long‐term benthic data for lake ecosystems, this dataset could be useful to explore broader aspects of ecological theory, including effects of eutrophication, hypoxia, invasive species, and other factors on community organization, phylogenetic and functional diversity, and spatial and temporal scales of variation in community structure. In addition, the dataset could be useful for studies on individual species, including abundance and distribution, species co‐occurrence, and how the patterns of dominance and rarity change over space and time. Use of this dataset for academic or educational purposes is encouraged as long as this data paper is properly cited.

中文翻译：

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1930 年至 2019 年伊利湖底栖无脊椎动物组合的密度数据

底栖无脊椎动物是食物网中重要的营养环节，也是环境条件的有用生物指示剂，但广泛地理区域的长期底栖生物丰度数据很少，历史数据集往往不易获取。该数据集提供了 1930 年至 2019 年在劳伦斯大湖伊利湖调查期间收集的底栖大型无脊椎动物的密度。这些调查由美国和加拿大政府资助，旨在调查海底群落的现状和变化。从 1929 年至 2019 年在伊利湖进行的 21 次全湖和全流域底栖调查中，我们获得了 17 次调查的数据，其中 10 次调查的物种级数据和 7 次更高分类群的调查数据。我们积累的伊利湖数据集包括 1930 年至 2019 年在西部流域进行的 11 项调查（其中 5 项包含物种级数据）、在中部流域进行的 7 项调查（6 项包含物种级数据）和 8 项调查（其中 7 项包含物种级数据）的数据。东部盆地（1973-2019）的物种级数据。该伊利湖数据集代表了劳伦五大湖中最广泛的底栖无脊椎动物时间数据集。使用 Ponar 或 Shipek 底部挖泥船收集底栖样本，并使用挖泥船的面积计算每平方米的个体密度。提供环节动物门、节肢动物门、软体动物门、刺胞动物门、纽虫门和扁形动物门类群的密度数据。目前的分类法用于大多数群体，但在少数情况下，使用较旧的分类名称以与历史数据保持一致。对该数据集的分析表明，富营养化、水质改善和德莱森鱼的引入是西部流域底栖生物群落变化的主要驱动因素，而缺氧是中部流域的主要因素，德莱森鱼的引入是最重要的驱动因素。东部盆地。考虑到湖泊生态系统高分类分辨率长期底栖数据的稀有性，该数据集可用于探索生态理论的更广泛方面，包括富营养化、缺氧、入侵物种和其他因素对群落组织、系统发育和功能多样性的影响，以及群落结构变化的空间和时间尺度。此外，该数据集可用于研究单个物种，包括丰度和分布、物种共现，以及优势和稀有模式如何随空间和时间变化。只要正确引用该数据论文，就鼓励将该数据集用于学术或教育目的。