Inland water macroinvertebrate occurrences in Flanders, Belgium

Rudy Vannevel; Ward De Cooman; Wim Gabriels; Frank Lavens; Joost Mertens; Bart Vervaeke; Dimitri Brosens

doi:10.15468/4cvbka

Inland water macroinvertebrate occurrences in Flanders, Belgium

Citation

Vannevel R, De Cooman W, Gabriels W, Lavens F, Mertens J, Vervaeke B, Brosens D (2024). Inland water macroinvertebrate occurrences in Flanders, Belgium. Version 1.17. Flanders Environment Agency (VMM). Sampling event dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/4cvbka accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-07-08.

Description

The Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) is performing biological water quality assessments on inland waters in Flanders (Belgium) since 1989 and sediment quality assessments since 2000. The water quality monitoring network is a combined physico-chemical and biological network, the biological component focusing on macro-invertebrates. The sediment monitoring program produces biological data to assess sediment quality. Both monitoring programs aim to provide index values, applying a similar conceptual methodology based on the presence of macro-invertebrates. The biological data obtained from both monitoring networks are consolidated in the VMM database. The dataset published contains: 283,141 records of 207 observed taxa from 4,152 monitoring sites located on more than 669 different water courses. The data are distributed to the public domain under the Creative Commons CC-BY license.

The data in this sampling event resource have been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data. It contains a core table with the events (25,317 records) and two related extensions with occurrences (334,796) and measurements (117,089). An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download here: https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=vmm-macroinvertebrates-events

Latest update: 2024/12/04

Purpose

The macro-invertebrates data set contains data on inland water bodies (assessment of water quality) and on sediments (assessment of sediment quality) to allow calculation of biotic indices.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

The macro-invertebrates data set contains data on inland water bodies (assessment of water quality) and on sediments (assessment of sediment quality) to allow calculation of biotic indices. Biotic indices are based on two properties: the number of taxa indicating the biodiversity, and the sensitivity of organisms (of a selected number of taxa) to (mainly organic) pollution. Biotic indices based on macro-invertebrates complement the physico-chemical water quality and are commonly considered as pollution indicators (for this reason they are called water quality indices), although they also partially reflect overall habitat conditions. Since biotic indices are intended for quick and practical use, numbers of organisms are estimated and the identification level is restricted.

Sampling

The sediment quality network The procedure for sampling macro-invertebrates in sediments waters is described in a compendium for sampling and analysis, authorised by the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO). Prescribed sampling methods include core and grab samplers. Field observations, including in situ physico-chemical measurements, are noted on a field protocol. The methods for sampling and sample treatment are standardized and certified; additional information can be obtained by contacting the corresponding authors. Relevant field information is included in the reported database, partially aggregated under ‘dwc:dynamicProperties’.

Quality Control

Comments regarding quality control apply to both the water and sediment quality networks. Field protocols and identification lists were used to allow comparable observations. However, a number of versions with new and adapted data elements haven been produced. Field observations are highly objectivated in this way, although differences resulting from personal interpretation may still occur. The same applies to taxonomic identification, and in this respect it is advised to consult also the expert publications based on the VMM data set (see reference list: publications based on this dataset). Differences with present taxonomic nomenclature can be experienced, for the reason distortion of biotic index values is avoided as much as possible. Be aware a large number of people contributed to the taxonomic identification over the years, which unavoidably led to errors (misidentification, inclusion of terrestrial taxa, etc.). For taxonomic verification of sample material, experts can contact the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS, Brussels) (http://collections.naturalsciences.be/) where the VMM macro-invertebrate samples are stored. RBINS identifiers apply to all VMM samples of a single year.

Method steps

Users of the data can comment on this macro-invertebrate dataset at https://github.com/LifeWatchVMM/macro-invertebrates -occurrences .

Additional info

To allow anyone to use this dataset, we have released the data to the public domain under a Creative Commons CC-BY licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). If you use these data for a scientific paper, please cite the dataset following the applicable citation norms and/or consider us for co-authorship. We are always interested to know how you have used or visualized the data, or to provide more information, so please contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata.

Taxonomic Coverages

The list below shows the taxonomic classification of macro-invertebrates expected to occur or observed. According to the VMM identification list (version 14 March 2017), 241 taxa are selected. Out of this number, 207 taxa have been observed between 1989 and 2016. Some taxa (between brackets) have occurred or are expected to occur in Belgium, but do not appear in the data set. In particular some taxa of Odonata, Ephemeroptera, and Plecoptera are considered less common in Flanders. On the other hand, the total number also includes some non-target taxa.

Animalia
rank: kingdom
Coelenterata
rank: phylum
Hydrozoa
rank: class
Plathelminthes
rank: phylum
Turbellaria
rank: class
Rhabdocoela
rank: order
Seriata
rank: order
Planariidae
rank: family
Dugesiidae
rank: family
Dendrocoelidae
rank: family
Nemertea
rank: phylum
Nemathelminthes
rank: phylum
Annelida
rank: phylum
Oligochaeta
rank: class
Aeolosomatidae
rank: family
Branchiobdellidae
rank: family
Enchytraeidae
rank: family
Haplotaxidae
rank: family
Lumbricidae
rank: family
Lumbriculidae
rank: family
Naididae
rank: family
Tubificidae
rank: family
Polychaeta
rank: class
Ampharetidae
rank: family
Sabellidae
rank: family
Hirudinea
rank: class
Mollusca
rank: phylum
Gastropoda
rank: class
Bivalvia
rank: class
Arthropoda
rank: phylum
Arachnida
rank: class
Aranea
rank: order
Crustacea
rank: subphylum
Branchiopoda
rank: class
Anostraca
rank: order
Notostraca
rank: order
Conchostraca
rank: order
Chirocephalidae
rank: family
Triopsidae
rank: family
Leptestheriidae
rank: family
Limnadiidae
rank: family
Cladocera
rank: order
Ostracoda
rank: class
Maxillopoda
rank: class
Branchiura
rank: subclass
Copepoda
rank: subclass
Argulidae
rank: family
Malacostraca
rank: class
Mysidacea
rank: order
Amphipoda
rank: order
Isopoda
rank: order
Decapoda
rank: order
Asellidae
rank: family
Astacidae
rank: family
Atyidae
rank: family
Cambaridae
rank: family
Corophiidae
rank: family
Crangonyctidae
rank: family
Gammaridae
rank: family
Janiridae
rank: family
Mysidae
rank: family
Palaemonidae
rank: family
Panopeidae
rank: family
Sphaeromatidae
rank: family
Talitridae
rank: family
Tanaidae
rank: family
Varunidae
rank: family
Insecta
rank: class
Ephemeroptera
rank: order
Odonata
rank: order
Plecoptera
rank: order
Hempitera
rank: order
Neuroptera
rank: order
Sisyridae
rank: family
Osmylidae
rank: family
Megaloptera
rank: order
Sialidae
rank: family
Coleoptera
rank: order
Dryopidae
rank: family
Dytiscidae
rank: family
Elminthidae
rank: family
Gyrinidae
rank: family
Haliplidae
rank: family
Hydraenidae
rank: family
Hydrophilidae
rank: family
Hygrobiidae
rank: family
Noteridae
rank: family
Psephenidae
rank: family
Scirtidae
rank: family
Trichoptera
rank: order
Beraeidae
rank: family
Branchycentridae
rank: family
Ecnomidae
rank: family
Glossosomatidae
rank: family
Goeridae
rank: family
Hydropsychidae
rank: family
Hydroptilidae
rank: family
Lepidostomatidae
rank: family
Leptoceridae
rank: family
Limnephilidae
rank: family
Molannidae
rank: family
Odontoceridae
rank: family
Philopotamidae
rank: family
Phryganeidae
rank: family
Polycentropodidae
rank: family
Psychomyidae
rank: family
Rhyacophilidae
rank: family
Sericostomatidae
rank: family
Lepidoptera
rank: order
Diptera
rank: order
Athericidae
rank: family
Blephariceridae
rank: family
Ceratopogonidae
rank: family
Chaoboridae
rank: family
Chironomidae
rank: family
Culicidae
rank: family
Cylindrotomidae
rank: family
Dixidae
rank: family
Dolichopodidae
rank: family
Empididae
rank: family
Ephydridae
rank: family
Limoniidae
rank: family
Muscidae
rank: family
Psychodidae
rank: family
Ptychoperidae
rank: family
Rhagionidae
rank: family
Scatophagidae
rank: family
Sciomyzidae
rank: family
Simulidae
rank: family
Stratiomyidae
rank: family
Syrphidae
rank: family
Tabanidae
rank: family
Thaumaleidae
rank: family
Tipulidae
rank: family
Eristalinae
rank: subfamily
Corixidae
rank: family
Notonectidae
rank: family
Pleidae
rank: family
Nepidae
rank: family
Naucoridae
rank: family
Gerridae
rank: family
Veliidae
rank: family
Hebridae
rank: family
Hydrometridae
rank: family
Mesoveliidae
rank: family
Chloroperlidae
rank: family
Perlodidae
rank: family
Perlodidae
rank: family
Leuctridae
rank: family
Capniidae
rank: family
Nemouridae
rank: family
Taeniopterigidae
rank: family
Libellulidae
rank: family
Corduliidae
rank: family
Gomphidae
rank: family
Aeshnidae
rank: family
Coenagrionidae
rank: family
Platycnemidae
rank: family
Lestidae
rank: family
Calopterygidae
rank: family
Caenidae
rank: family
Polymitarcidae
rank: family
Ephemeridae
rank: family
Potamanthidae
rank: family
Ephemerellidae
rank: family
Leptophlebiidae
rank: family
Heptageniidae
rank: family
Oligoneuriidae
rank: family
Baetidae
rank: family
Siphlonuridae
rank: family
Mactridae
rank: family
Cyrenidae
rank: family
Sphaeriidae
rank: family
Dreissenidae
rank: family
Unionidae
rank: family
Margaritiferidae
rank: family
Ancroloxidae
rank: family
Ancylidae
rank: family
Planorbidae
rank: family
Lymnaeidae
rank: family
Physidae
rank: family
Bithyniidae
rank: family
Valvatidae
rank: family
Viviparidae
rank: family
Neritidae
rank: family
Erpobdellidae
rank: family
Hirudidae
rank: family
Glossiphoniidae
rank: family
Piscicolidae
rank: family

Geographic Coverages

Belgium is located in the center of Western Europe and its surface area reaches 30,528 km². Of the three administrative regions, Flanders is situated in the northern part and covers an area of 13,522 km² (which is 44.29 % of the Belgian territory), roughly situated on 51° latitude and 4° longitude.

Bibliographic Citations

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De Pauw N., Beyst B. & Heylen S., 2000. Development of a biological assessment method for river sediments in Flanders, Belgium. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 27: 2703-2708. -
De Pauw N. & Heylen S., 2001. Biotic index for sediment quality assessment of watercourses in Flanders, Belgium. Aquatic Ecology 35: 121–133, 2001. -
De Pauw N., Roels D. & Fontoura A.P., 1986. Use of artificial substrates for standardized sampling of macroinvertebrates in the assessment of water quality by the Belgian Biotic Index. Hydrobiologia 133: 237-258. -
De Pauw N. & Vanhooren G., 1983. Method for the biological quality assessment of watercourses in Belgium. Hydrobiologia, 100: 153-168. -
De Pauw N. & Vannevel R., 1991. Macro-invertebraten en waterkwaliteit. Stichting Leefmilieu, Antwerpen. 316 p. (in Dutch) -
Gabriels W., Goethals P. L. M. & De Pauw N., 2005. Implications of taxonomic modifications and alien species on biological water quality assessment as exemplified by the Belgian Biotic Index method. Hydrobiologia (2005) 542:137–150. - DOI 10.1007/s10750-004-1452-7
Gabriels W., Lock K., De Pauw N. & Goethals P.L.M., 2010. Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF) for biological assessment of rivers and lakes in Flanders (Belgium). Limnologica 40 (2010) 199–207. - doi:10.1016/j.limno.2009.10.001
NBN, 1984. Qualité biologique des cours d’eau – Determination de l’indice biotique se basant sur les macro-invertébrés aquatiques. / Biologische kwaliteit van de waterlopen – Bepaling van de biotische index steunende op aquatische macro-invertebraten. Norme Belge – Belgische Norm NBN T92-402. Belgisch Instituut voor normalisatie – Institut Belge de Normalisation. 11 p. (in Dutch and French) -
VMM, 2009. Biological assessment of the natural, heavily modified and artificial surface water bodies in Flanders according to the European Water Framework Directive. Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij (VMM), Aalst, Belgium. December 2009. 80 p -
Robertson T., Döring M., Guralnick R., Bloom D., Wieczorek J. et al., 2014. The GBIF Integrated Publishing Toolkit: Facilitating the Efficient Publishing of Biodiversity Data on the Internet. PLoS ONE 9(8): e102623. - doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102623
Wieczorek J., Bloom D., Guralnick R., Blum S., Döring M. et al., 2012. Darwin Core: An Evolving Community-Developed Biodiversity Data Standard. PLoS ONE 7(1): e29715. - doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029715
Boets P., 2013. Impact assessment of alien macroinvertebrates in Flanders (Belgium). PhD thesis, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium. 209 p. -
Boets P., Brosens D., Lock K., Adriaens T., Aelterman B., Mertens J., Goethals P.L.M., 2016. Alien macroinvertebrates in Flanders (Belgium). Aquatic Invasions (2016) Volume 11, Issue 2: 131–144. - DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/ai.2016.11.2.03
Boets P., Lock K., Goethals P.L.M. (2010b). First record of Synurella ambulans (Müller, 1846) (Amphipoda: Crangonictidae) in Belgium. Belgian Journal of Zoology 140(2): 244-245. -
Boets P., Lock K., Tempelman D., van Haaren T., Platvoet D., Goethals P.L.M. (2012b). First occurrence of the Ponto-Caspian amphipod Echinogammarus trichiatus (Martynov, 1932) (Crustacea: Gammaridae) in Belgium. Bioinvasion records 1(2): 115-120. -
Boets P., Lock K., Adriaens T., Mouton A., Goethals P.L.M. (2012c). Distribution of crayfish (Decapoda, Astacoidea) in Flanders (Belgium): an update. Belgian Journal of Zoology 142(1): 86-92. -
Boets P., Lock K., Adriaens T. & Goethals P., 2014. Exotische macroinvertebraten in Vlaanderen - Verspreiding en impact op inheemse waterfauna. Natuur.focus 13(1): 22-30. (in Dutch) -
De Somere P., 2008. Datagebaseerde verspreidingsmodellen voor macro-invertebraten in Vlaamse riviersedimenten / Data driven species distribution models for macroinvertebrates in Flemish river sediments. Universiteit Gent, Faculteit Bio-Ingenieurswetenschappen. Academiejaar 2007-2008. Masterproef voorgedragen tot het behalen van de graad van ‘Master in de Milieusanering en het Milieubeheer’. 54 p. -
Gabriels W., 2007. Multimetric assessment of freshwater macroinvertebrate communities in Flanders, Belgium. PhD thesis. Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium. 207 p. -
Gabriels W., Goethals P. L. M. & De Pauw N., 2005. Implications of taxonomic modifications and alien species on biological water quality assessment as exemplified by the Belgian Biotic Index method. Hydrobiologia (2005) 542:137–150. - DOI 10.1007/s10750-004-1452-7
Gabriels W., Lock K., De Pauw N. & Goethals P.L.M., 2010. Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF) for biological assessment of rivers and lakes in Flanders (Belgium). Limnologica 40 (2010) 199–207. doi:10.1016/j.limno.2009.10.001 -
Goethals P.L.M., 2005. Data Driven Development of Predictive Ecological Models for Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Rivers - Gegevensgebaseerde Ontwikkeling van Predictieve Ecologische Modellen voor Benthische Macro-invertebraten in Rivieren. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor (PhD) in Applied Biological Sciences / Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Doctor in de Toegepaste Biologische Wetenschappen. Academiejaar 2004-2005. Universiteit Gent, Faculteit Bio-ingenieurswetenschappen. 378 p. -
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Contacts

Rudy Vannevel
originator
position: Scientist
Flanders Environment Agency (VMM)
Dr. De Moorstraat 24-26
Aalst
9300
East Flanders
BE
email: r.vannevel@vmm.be
homepage: https://en.vmm.be/

Ward De Cooman
originator
position: Scientist
Flanders Environment Agency (VMM)
Dr. De Moorstraat 24-26
Aalst
9300
East Flanders
BE

Wim Gabriels
originator
position: Scientist
Flanders Environment Agency (VMM)
Dr. De Moorstraat 24-26
Aalst
9300
East Flanders
BE
homepage: https://en.vmm.be/

Frank Lavens
originator
position: Scientist
Flanders Environment Agency (VMM)
Dr. De Moorstraat 24-26
Aalst
9300
East Flanders
BE
homepage: https://en.vmm.be/

Joost Mertens
originator
position: Scientist
Flanders Environment Agency (VMM)
Dr. De Moorstraat 24-26
Aalst
9300
East Flanders
BE
homepage: https://en.vmm.be/

Bart Vervaeke
originator
position: Scientist
Flanders Environment Agency (VMM)
Dr. De Moorstraat 24-26
Aalst
9300
East Flanders
BE
homepage: https://en.vmm.be/

Dimitri Brosens
originator
position: Biodiversity Research Liaison Officer
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) / Belgian Biodiversity Platform
Havenlaan 88, bus 73
Brussels
1000
Brussels
BE
email: dimitri.brosens@inbo.be
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0846-9116

Dimitri Brosens
metadata author
position: Biodiversity Research Liaison Officer
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) / Belgian Biodiversity Platform
Havenlaan 88, bus 73
Brussels
1070
Brussels Capital Region
BE
email: dimitri.brosens@inbo.be
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0846-9116

Rudy Vannevel
administrative point of contact
position: Scientist
Flanders Environment Agency (VMM)
Dr. De Moorstraat 24-26
Aalst
9300
East Flanders
BE
email: r.vannevel@vmm.be
homepage: https://en.vmm.be/