DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv7c
title: Data from: A comprehensive occurrence dataset for European Ostracoda inhabiting groundwater and groundwater-dependent ecosystems

description: MotivationGroundwater ecosystems sustain a unique and globally important
 biodiversity but remain understudied due to sampling and exploration
 challenges, as well as a shortage of taxonomic experts. Groundwater
 ostracods, like other groundwater taxa, exhibit a high degree of endemism,
 rarity, and subterranean specialisation, positioning them as potentially
 vulnerable organisms. To better understand biodiversity patterns and the
 conservation needs of this highly diverse group, we assembled a team of
 experts to gather the most comprehensive information available about
 groundwater ostracods in Europe. We present a dataset comprising 2,065
 occurrence records of 110 species, 11 undescribed species, and 5
 subspecies of groundwater ostracods. This open dataset may support future
 research on the distribution, evolutionary pathways, and conservation
 needs of European groundwater ostracods, as well as inspire targeted
 sampling efforts in regions with currently limited data available.Main
 Types of Variables ContainedOccurrence records of groundwater ostracods,
 with details about taxonomy, source of records, occurrence locality,
 habitat type, and species dependence on groundwater (obligate [stygobite]
 versus facultative groundwater-dwellers [stygophile]).Spatial Location and
 GrainGeographical Europe, spanning 32 countries. Occurrence records were
 assigned decimal degrees coordinates (EPSG:4326). Most occurrence records
 are at 100 m resolution.Time Period1915–2024.Major Taxa and Level of
 MeasurementCrustacea: Ostracoda. Most records have species or
 subspecies-level identification, while some are identified to genus or
 family levels.Software FormatComma-separated values file (.csv), with
 UTF-8 encoding and meta-data provided following the Darwin Core standard.
description: # A comprehensive occurrence dataset for European Ostracoda inhabiting
 groundwater and groundwater-dependent ecosystems Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv7c](10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv7c) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The European Ostracoda occurrence dataset for
 groundwater and groundwater-dependent ecosystems (EGWOD) was compiled from
 several datasets and databases: the European groundwater crustacean
 dataset (Zagmajster *et al*., 2014), the SubBioDB database (Zagmajster et
 al., 2008; Zagmajster et al., 2012), the Slovenian Ostracoda dataset (Mori
 and Šalamun, 2022), and several datasets obtained from individual
 researchers in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Croatia, Hungary, Romania,
 Italy, and Austria. Furthermore, additional data from 7 publications were
 included. **Main Types of Variables Contain** occurrence records of
 groundwater ostracods, with details about taxonomy, source of records,
 occurrence locality, habitat type, and species dependence on groundwater
 (obligate [stygobiont] versus facultative groundwater-dwellers
 [stygophile]). **Spatial Location and Grain** is geographical Europe,
 spanning 32 countries. Occurrence records were assigned decimal degrees
 coordinates (EPSG:4326). Most occurrence records are at 100 m resolution.
 **Time Period** is 1915–2024. **Major Taxa and Level of Measurement** are
 Crustacea: Ostracoda. Most records have species or subspecies-level
 identification, while some are identified to genus or family levels. ###
 Files and variables #### File: Dataset.csv **Description:** The csv file
 Dataset contains a total of 2065 Ostracoda records across 32 countries.
 Forty-two records were identified only to family and 132 genus level,
 respectively. A total of 2022 records include precise spatial coordinates
 (spatial precision &lt; 100 m), and 1902 records contain information on
 sampling site type. ##### Variables | **COLUMN\_NAME** | **DESCRIPTION** |
 **TYPE\_OF\_ENTRIES** | | :----------------------- |
 :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------------- | | ID | Occurrence record ID | numeric | | datasetName | Official name of the source, if any, or unofficial name of the source | text | | informationWithheld | Name of the owner/provider of the dataset | text | | taxonID | Taxon ID as set in the source dataset. If an ID was not provided, the cell is left empty. | numeric | | class | Class following nomenclature by Meisch et al., 2024 | text | | order | Ordo following nomenclature by Meisch et al., 2024 | text | | family | Familia following nomenclature by Meisch et al., 2024 | text | | genus | Genus following nomenclature by Meisch et al., 2024. If identification to the genus level was not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | species | Species following nomenclature by Meisch et al., 2024. If identification to the species level was not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | scientificNameAuthorship | Author\&Year following nomenclature by Meisch et al., 2024 | text | | verbatimIdentification | Taxon/species full name as provided in the source | text | | scientificName | Valid species full name following nomenclature by Meisch et al., 2024 | text | | taxonRank | Taxonomic identification level. | text | | lineage | In cases with multiple lineages, the specific lineage is indicated. If not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | dateIdentified | Date of survey/sampling. If not provided, the cell is left empty. | date | | identifiedBy | Surveyers/legit. If not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | decimalLatitude | N - measured in degrees. If the coordinates were not provided, the cell is left empty. | numeric | | decimalLongitude | E - measured in degrees. If the coordinates were not provided, the cell is left empty. | numeric | | geodeticDatum | Coordinate system/georeference protocol. If the coordinates were not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | elevationInMeters | Defined from the source or calculated. If not avaliable, the cell is left empty. | numeric | | verticalDatum | Predefined or calculated (def/cal). If elevationInMeters was not defined, the cell is left empty. | text | | locationID | Locality ID if set in source dataset If an ID was not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | locality | Descriptive name of the exact locality. If the locality name was not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | municipality | Name of the municipality or nearby larger settlement. If the municipality was not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | stateProvince | Name of the province. If not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | region | Name of the region. If not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | country | Name of the country | text | | locationRemarks | Sampling site type as defined in source database. If not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | habitat | Synchronised sampling site type : Cave; Interstitial - Hyporheic zone; Interstitial - Phreatic Zone; Spring; Well. If sampling site type was not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | MeasurementOrFact | Stygobiont - exclusively from GW, Stygophile - predominantly occuring in GW | text | | references | Source reference. If not avaliable, the cell is left empty. | text | | basisOfRecord | Literature/dataset/observation. If not avaliable, the cell is left empty. | text | | rightsHolder | Rights holder of the data. If not provided, the cell is left empty. | text | | Input.into.DB.-.name | Name of the person that inserted the data into the  dataset | text | #### File: Data\_Source.csv **Description:** This csv file lists all the sources from where the data on Ostracoda occurence were extracted.  ##### Variables | **COLUMN\_NAME** | **DESCRIPTION** | **TYPE\_OF\_ENTRIES** | **Explanation** | | :------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------------ | :-------------------------------------- | | Type | Type of resource | database; meta-database; dataset |   | | Name | Official name of the resource, if any | text |   | | Link | Link to the resource, if any | link |   | | Link 2 | Second link to the resource, if any | link |   | | Associated\_publication | Publication describing the resource, if any | text |   | | Open\_access | Is the data openly available | yes ; yes (registered); no | yes (registered): OA after registration | | Updated | Is the resource curated and/or updated on a regularly basis | yes ; no |   | | Contact | Main contact person (with email if possible) | text ( Name Surname – email ) |   | | Accessibility\_notes | Any note regarding open access and accessibility | text |   | | Temporal\_span | The temporal coverage of the resource | range in years (e.g., 2005-2020) |   | | Spatial\_extent | The spatial etent of the resource | punctual ; regional ; national ; transnational ; global |   | | Coordinates\_x | The spatial extent of the resource | Numeric (in WGS84 decimal degrees) |   | | Coordinates\_y | coordinate y (latitude) of the resource, if available | Numeric (in WGS84 decimal degrees) |   | | Subterranean\_terrestrial | does the resource focus on terrestrial subterranean habitats? | yes ; no |   | | Subterranean\_freshwater | does the resource focus on freshwater subterranean habitats? | yes ; no |   | | Subterranean\_marine | does the resource focus on marine subterranean habitats? | yes ; no |   | | Subterranean\_exclusive | is the resource solely focused on subterranean ecosystems? | yes ; no |   | ##### ## Code/software Comma-separated values file (.csv) with UTF-8 encoding and meta-data provided following the Darwin Core standard. ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * Hazelton [https://bcra.org.uk/biology/](https://bcra.org.uk/biology/) Data was derived from the following sources: | **Type** | **Name** | **Link** | | :------------ | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | database | European Groundwater Crustacea Database | [https://opennetzero.org/freshwater-research-resources-and-tools/european-groundwater-crustacea-database ](https://opennetzero.org/freshwater-research-resources-and-tools/european-groundwater-crustacea-database) | | database | SubBioDB - Subterranean Biodiversity Database | [https://db.subbio.net/](https://db.subbio.net/) | | database | Slovenian Ostracoda Dataset | [https://www.ckff.si/zbirka.php ](https://www.ckff.si/zbirka.php) | | meta-database | GBIF | [https://www.gbif.org/](https://www.gbif.org/) (not presented in the Dryad due to licence limitation) | | dataset | Romanian Ostracoda Dataset | n/a (not available online) | | dataset | Hungarian Ostracoda Dataset | n/a (not available online) | | article | Klie, W. (1937). Weitere Ostracoden aus dem Grundwasser von Belgien. Bulletin of the Royal Belgian Natural History Museum, 13(4). | [https://biblio.naturalsciences.be/rbins-publications/bulletin-of-the-royal-belgian-natural-history-museum/13-1937/irscnb\_p4087\_00f27dp\_13\_bulletin-4-red.pdf](https://biblio.naturalsciences.be/rbins-publications/bulletin-of-the-royal-belgian-natural-history-museum/13-1937/irscnb_p4087_00f27dp_13_bulletin-4-red.pdf) | | database | Hazelton Database | [https://bcra.org.uk/biology/](https://bcra.org.uk/biology/) | | article | Rossetti, G., Martens, K., Meisch, C., Tavernelli, S., & Pieri, V. (2006). Small is beautiful: Diversity of freshwater ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in marginal habitats of the province of Parma (Northern Italy). Journal of Limnology, 65(2), 121-131. [https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2006.121](https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2006.121) | [https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2006.121](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228702117_Small_is_beautiful_Diversity_of_freshwater_ostracods_Crustacea_Ostracoda_in_marginal_habitats_of_the_province_of_Parma_Northern_Italy) | | article | Pieri, V., Martens, K., Meisch, C., & Rossetti, G. (2015). An annotated checklist of the Recent non-marine ostracods (Ostracoda: Crustacea) from Italy. Zootaxa, 3919(2), 271–305. [https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3919.2.3](https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3919.2.3) | [https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.3919.2.3](https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.3919.2.3) | | article | Pendino, V., Vecchioni, L., Stoch, F., & Marrone, F. (2024). Checklist and distribution of the groundwater crustacean fauna from Sicily, Italy. Journal of Limnology, 83(1), 1-19. [https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2024.2199](https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2024.2199) | [https://www.jlimnol.it/jlimnol/article/view/2199](https://www.jlimnol.it/jlimnol/article/view/2199) | | article | Mazzini, I., Marrone, F., Arculeo, M., & Rossetti, G. (2017). Revision of Recent and fossil Mixtacandona Klie 1938 (Ostracoda, Candonidae) from Italy, with description of a new species. Zootaxa, 4221(3), 323–340. [https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4221.3.3](https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4221.3.3) | [https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4221.3.3](https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4221.3.3) | | dataset | Scotland Ostracoda Dataset | n/a (not available online) | | article | Knight, L. R. F. D., Mori, N. & Brancelj, A. (2022). A preliminary survey of the aquatic invertebrate fauna of Scottish caves. Cave and Karst Science, 49(1), 3–13. | [https://bcra.org.uk/pub/candks/index.html?j=145](https://bcra.org.uk/pub/candks/index.html?j=145) | | article | Pociecha, A., Karpowicz, M., Namiotko, T., Dumnicka, E., & Galas, J. (2021). Diversity of Groundwater Crustaceans in Wells in Various Geologic Formations of Southern Poland. Water, 13(16), 2193. [https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162193](https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162193) | [https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/16/2193](https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/16/2193) | | dataset | Austrian Ostracoda dataset | n/a (not available online) |