The global EPTO database: Worldwide occurrences of aquatic insects
Authors: Grigoropoulou Afroditi , Hamid Suhaila Ab , Acosta Raúl , Akindele Emmanuel Olusegun , Al‐Shami Salman A. , Altermatt Florian , Amatulli Giuseppe , Angeler David G. , Arimoro Francis O. , Aroviita Jukka , Astorga‐Roine Anna , Bastos Rafael Costa , Bonada Núria , Boukas Nikos , Brand Cecilia , Bremerich Vanessa , Bush Alex , Cai Qinghua , Callisto Marcos , Chen Kai , Cruz Paulo Vilela , Dangles Olivier , Death Russell , Deng Xiling , Domínguez Eduardo , Dudgeon David , Eriksen Tor Erik , Faria Ana Paula J. , Feio Maria João , Fernández‐Aláez Camino , Floury Mathieu , García‐Criado Francisco , García‐Girón Jorge , Graf Wolfram , Grönroos Mira , Haase Peter , Hamada Neusa , He Fengzhi , Heino Jani , Holzenthal Ralph , Huttunen Kaisa‐Leena , Jacobsen Dean , Jähnig Sonja C. , Jetz Walter , Johnson Richard K. , Juen Leandro , Kalkman Vincent , Kati Vassiliki , Keke Unique N. , Koroiva Ricardo , Kuemmerlen Mathias , Langhans Simone Daniela , Ligeiro Raphael , Van Looy Kris , Maasri Alain , Marchant Richard , Garcia Marquez Jaime Ricardo , Martins Renato T. , Melo Adriano S. , Metzeling Leon , Miserendino Maria Laura , Moe S. Jannicke , Molineri Carlos , Muotka Timo , Mustonen Kaisa‐Riikka , Mykrä Heikki , Cavalcante do Nascimento Jeane Marcelle , Valente‐Neto Francisco , Neu Peter J. , Nieto Carolina , Pauls Steffen U. , Paulson Dennis R. , Rios‐Touma Blanca , Rodrigues Marciel Elio , de Oliveira Roque Fabio , Salazar Salina Juan Carlos , Schmera Dénes , Schmidt‐Kloiber Astrid , Shah Deep Narayan , Simaika John P. , Siqueira Tadeu , Tachamo‐Shah Ram Devi , Theischinger Günther , Thompson Ross , Tonkin Jonathan D. , Torres‐Cambas Yusdiel , Townsend Colin , Turak Eren , Twardochleb Laura , Wang Beixin , Yanygina Liubov , Zamora‐Muñoz Carmen , Domisch Sami 
Published: March 2023

Motivation

Aquatic insects comprise 64% of freshwater animal diversity and are widely used as bioindicators to assess water quality impairment and freshwater ecosystem health, as well as to test ecological hypotheses. Despite their importance, a comprehensive, global database of aquatic insect occurrences for mapping freshwater biodiversity in macroecological studies and applied freshwater research is missing. We aim to fill this gap and present the Global EPTO Database, which includes worldwide geo‐referenced aquatic insect occurrence records for four major taxa groups: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Odonata (EPTO).

Main type of variables contained

A total of 8,368,467 occurrence records globally, of which 8,319,689 (99%) are publicly available. The records are attributed to the corresponding drainage basin and sub‐catchment based on the Hydrography90m dataset and are accompanied by the elevation value, the freshwater ecoregion and the protection status of their location.

Spatial location and grain

The database covers the global extent, with 86% of the observation records having coordinates with at least four decimal digits (11.1 m precision at the equator) in the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) coordinate reference system.

Time period and grain

Sampling years span from 1951 to 2021. Ninety‐nine percent of the records have information on the year of the observation, 95% on the year and month, while 94% have a complete date. In the case of seven sub‐datasets, exact dates can be retrieved upon communication with the data contributors.

Major taxa and level of measurement

Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Odonata, standardized at the genus taxonomic level. We provide species names for 7,727,980 (93%) records without further taxonomic verification.

Software format

The entire tab‐separated value (.csv) database can be downloaded and visualized at https://glowabio.org/project/epto_database/. Fifty individual datasets are also available at https://fred.igb‐berlin.de, while six datasets have restricted access. For the latter, we share metadata and the contact details of the authors.