Perch (Perca fluviatilis) abundance, sex, age, length, and weight data were collected from four sites in Windermere's North and South Basins from 1943 to 2019. The data were initially collected by the Freshwater Biological Association and later by UKCEH and its predecessors. The dataset captures a major pathogen outbreak in 1976 that induced massive mortality among large mature individuals.
Use Cases
- Analyzing long-term population trends based on abundance data collected over 76 years.
- Studying the impact of a pathogen outbreak on population structure based on the 1976 mortality event.
- Modeling growth and size-at-age relationships based on length and weight measurements.
- Investigating sex ratios and demographic changes over time based on sexing data.
Strengths
- Data spans 76 years (1943-2019), providing a long-term ecological record.
- Captures a specific, documented ecological event (the 1976 pathogen outbreak).
- Collection methods were standardized and consistent over time, as stated in the description.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data collection stopped in December 2018; the final year (2019) may have limited records.
Provenance
- Source
- Environmental Information Data Centre
- Collection Method
- Perch were caught using traps at four sites, weighed, sexed, measured, and aged.
- Time Range
- 1943-2019
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-07 13:08:33.239734; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Windermere North and South Basins, UK (specifically Green Tuft, Rawlinsons Nab, Lakeside, Chicken Rock)