Copepods are the predominant taxon in marine zooplankton and play an important role in the pelagic food web as intermediators between primary producers, the microbial loop and higher trophic levels. Here, we provide 33 data sets with abundances for a total of 312 copepod taxa from the Southern Ocean, the Magellan region, the Great Meteor Bank and the northern Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aqaba.

In the 1990s, ecological survey work was carried out in English landscapes containing semi-natural habitats that were perceived to be under threat, or which represented areas of concern ("key habitats"), complementing the national Countryside Survey of Great Britain. The landscapes were lowland heath, chalk and limestone grasslands, coasts and uplands. Standardised procedures were used to record ecological data from representative 1 km squares throughout England in 1992 and 1993.

Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) is the dominant species in northeast China, which is situated in the southernmost part of the global boreal forest and is undergoing great climate change. Its growth characteristics (tree height, diameter at breast height, tree volume and/or stand volume) were collected from published studies from 1965 to 2015. The data set (N=743) provides a quantitative reference for plantation management practices and boreal forest growth prediction under future climate change.

The Countryside Survey (CS) of Great Britain consists of an extensive set of repeated ecological measurements at a national scale, covering a time span of 29 years. CS was first undertaken in 1978 to monitor ecological and land use change in Britain using standardised procedures for recording ecological data from representative 1 km squares throughout the country. The mapping of ecological landscape elements has subsequently been repeated in 1984, 1990, 1998 and 2007.

An ocean floor observation system (OFOS) was used to collect seabed imagery on two cruises of the RV Polarstern, ANT-XXIX/3 (PS81) to the Antarctic Peninsula from January to March 2013 and ANT-XXXI/2 (PS96) to the Weddell Sea from December 2015 to February 2016. We report on the image and data collections gathered during these cruises. Seabed images, including metadata, are available from the data publisher PANGAEA via https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.872719 (PS81) and https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.862097 (PS96).

The Countryside Survey (CS) of Great Britain consists of an extensive set of repeated ecological measurements at a national scale, covering a time span of 29 years. CS was first undertaken in 1978 to monitor ecological and land use change in Britain using standardised procedures for recording ecological data from representative 1 km squares throughout the country. The vegetation component has subsequently been repeated in 1990, 1998 and 2007, and changes may be related to a range of drivers.

Geo-referenced catch and fishing effort data of the bigeye tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean over 1952–2014 were analyzed and standardized to facilitate population dynamics modeling studies. A total of 30 fisheries were finally determined from longline, purse seine and other-gears data sets. Nevertheless, still one-third of total nominal catch is not included due to a total lack of geo-referenced information and would need to be processed separately.

In 1971, an ecological survey of the native pinewoods of Scotland was carried out. This unique habitat is widely recognised, not only by ecologists for its inherent biodiversity but also by the general public for its cultural and amenity value. The repeatable survey collected information on ground flora, soils, forest structure and general site information from 27 major pinewood sites. The results from the survey helped to set the conservation agenda for the old Caledonian pinewoods.

A survey of the natural environment was undertaken in Shetland in 1974, after concern was expressed that large-scale development from the new oil industry could threaten the natural features of the islands. A framework was constructed by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology on which to select samples for the survey. The vegetation and habitat data that were collected, along with the sampling framework, have recently been made public.

The Woodland Survey of Great Britain is a unique data set, consisting of a detailed range of ecological measurements at a national scale, covering a time span of 30 years. A set of 103 semi-natural woods spread across Britain were first surveyed in 1971, which were again surveyed in 2000-2003. Standardised methods of describing the trees, shrubs, ground flora, soils and general habitats present were used for both sets of surveys.