DOI: 10.5683/sp3/onlqgx
title: Physico-chemical and biological data from 36 kettle lakes: fish, amphibian, and zooplankton communities [Québec, Canada, 2024]

description: Data were collected in 36 kettle lakes between April 29 and August 9, 2024 in Québec, Canada. Lakes were classified according to the presence or absence of fish and their hydrological connectivity (connected or disconnected from surrounding aquatic ecosystems).

Physico-chemical parameters expected to influence amphibian, fish, and zooplankton assemblages were measured in each lake. Fish presence or absence was assessed by deploying three baited minnow traps and one fyke net overnight in each lake. Amphibian communities were assessed using acoustic recorders to detect calling score of adult males, visual surveys to count amphibian egg masses, and larvae and newts were sampled using minnow traps and a fyke net. Zooplankton sampling was conducted using a plankton net. 

The purpose of the dataset was to evaluate how fish presence and hydrological connectivity influence amphibian and zooplankton community composition, abundance, and diversity in kettle lake ecosystems. A preprint has been published (https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.22.700881) and the manuscript has been submitted to Freshwater Biology.
description: Variables and their units are as follows for each files: 

analyse_chlorophylle_a: Site; Replicat; Sampling date; Date of analysis; Hour of analysis; Analyst; Filtred volume (mL); Volume of ethanol used during extraction (mL); Fluorescence value of the sample before fluorescence Fo and after Fa; Fo and Fa values corrected; Slope of the standard curve K; Average ratio Fm of Fo corrected/Fa corrected for the standard curve; Chlorophyl a (µg/L); Phaeophytin (µg/L).

anuran_callingscores: Site; Year; Month; Day; Time24H; RecordingQuality; DisturbanceType; calling scores of aname (Anaxyrus americanus), licl (Lithobates clamitans), lise (Lithobates septentrionalis), lisy (Lithobates sylvaticus) and pscr (Pseudacris crucifer) based on the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (2005). 

dates_sampling: Site; Sampling dates of phyico-chemical parameters, zooplankton, dissolved organic carbon; Dates and times of installation and removal of acoustic recorders; Number of hours of fishing (h).

DIC_DOC_2024: inorganic carbon (mg/L), organic carbon (mg/L), standard deviation, %CV

egg_masses_2024: Date; Sampling period (first or second); Julien Day; Observers; Sampling time: Site; Species; Life stage; Total abundance per site; Abundance per egg mass; Egg masses count per lake; Notes.

eskerlakes_location_connectivity_fish: Site; Coordinates (WGS 84/ UTM Zone 18N) where x represents easting and y represents northing in meters; Connectivity (0 for Disconnected, 1 for Connected); Fish presence (0 for absence, 1 for presence). 

fish_sampling_2024: Date; Julien Day; Site; Members of the team; Fishing gear; Species; Abundance; Total length (cm); Weight (g); Notes.

larvae_amphibian_2024: Date; Julien Day; Site; Members of the team; Fishing gear; Species; Life stage; Abundance; Total length (cm); Weight (g); Notes.

light_attenuation: Lake; Date; Depth (m); Incident irradiance (air); Underwater light intensity (water)

long_temps_transect: Site; Sampling period; Transect length (m); Sample duration (00m00s).

N-2024: Sample ID; Concentration (ppm); Corrected concentration (ppm); Notes.

P-2024: Sample ID; Absorbance at 890nm; Absorbance at 890nm; Concentration (µg/L); Notes. 

physico-chemistry: Site; Dissolved oxygen concentration (µmg/L); Temperature (°C); pH; specific conductivity (µS/cm); Dissolved oxygen saturation (%).

zooplankton_summer2024_eskerlakes: Site; Replicat; Volume of filtered water (L); Sampling date; Division factor; Identification date; Analyst; Abundance of each taxon per replicat per site.

Related publication will be updated when manuscript accepted.