This dataset comprises bird abundance data collected using point count methods in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes in the summer of 2014. The purpose of the study was to characterise the variation in breeding bird fauna across a range of urban forms. The data were collected as part of the Fragments, Functions and Flows in Urban Ecosystem Services (F3UES) project, as part of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) framework. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/e7ab3cd1-98fe-4ac4-ad44-e66aad3f2b74

This dataset comprises bird abundance data collected using point count methods in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes in the summer of 2013. The purpose of the study was to characterise the variation in breeding bird fauna across a range of urban forms. As well as measuring the birds that were 'really' present, the survey aimed to investigate the birds detectable at times of day when people were more active and more likely to have casual encounters with them. These data were collected as part of the Fragments, Functions and Flows in Urban Ecosystem Services (F3UES) project, as part of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) framework. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/c4806e25-5325-4b01-8066-91a8fb55eb41

The data set consists of bird species counts, recorded in 300 1km squares across Wales, collected as part of the Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (GMEP). The monitoring programme was set up by the Welsh Government in 2013 to monitor the effects of the Glastir agri-environment scheme on the environment and ran from 2013 to 2016. The field survey element was based on a stratified random sampling design of 300 x 1km square sites across Wales, and was managed by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/31da0a94-62be-47b3-b76e-4bdef3037360

This dataset provides linear trends, over varying time periods, for the Collated Indices of individual butterfly species across the UK. The main statistical values derived from a linear regression (slope, standard error, P-value) are presented for the entire time series for each species (1976# to 2022), for the last 20 years, and for the last decade. In addition, trends are classified based on the direction and significance of a linear slope together with an estimated percentage change for that time period. These trend data are provided for all UK butterfly species for which we have sufficient data (58 species). Trends are calculated by performing a linear regression on the annual Collated indices for each species. Collated indices are calculated using a log-linear model incorporating individual site indices from all monitored sites across the UK for a given species in a given year. Trends across different time series allow us to determine the long and short-term status of individual species. This is enables us to focus conservation and research and also to assess species responses to conservation already in place. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. #Because the Collated indices are only calculated for each species in years in which it was recorded on five or more sites, the starting year for the series is later than 1976 for a number of rarer species. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/4d21825b-56fc-4e01-8d67-068d1d587633

This dataset provides the details of all sites on which butterflies have been monitored as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). This includes all standard UKBMS transect sites, Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) sites and targeted species survey sites (timed counts, single-species transects, larval web and egg counts). Data includes the location within the UK, the length and number of sections for the butterfly transect on each site and the number of years each transect has been monitored. The location of some sites are sensitive and are excluded from this dataset. Users requiring access to the complete dataset, including sensitive site location data, can submit a request via the UKBMS website. The UKBMS started in 1976 with fewer than 50 sites. Since then the number of sites monitored each year has increased to several thousand. There are new sites each year and a small number where the transect is no longer surveyed. Details of this are provided in the site dataset in the form of the first and last year in which each site was surveyed. The majority of site data is provided by recorders at the time a transect is created. Site data are crucial in order to determine where extra recording effort is required and to investigate where butterfly populations are changing most and thus where conservation should be targeted, including across different habitat types. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/1cfdcd20-afb8-4b58-9ab2-604b90f5242d

This dataset provides the details of all sites on which butterflies have been monitored as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). This includes all standard UKBMS transect sites, Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) sites and targeted species survey sites (timed counts, single-species transects, larval web and egg counts). Data includes the location within the UK, the length and number of sections for the butterfly transect on each site and the number of years each transect has been monitored. The location of some sites are sensitive and are excluded from this dataset. Users requiring access to the complete dataset, including sensitive site location data, can submit a request via the UKBMS website. The UKBMS started in 1976 with fewer than 50 sites. Since then the number of sites monitored each year has increased to several thousand. There are new sites each year and a small number where the transect is no longer surveyed. Details of this are provided in the site dataset in the form of the first and last year in which each site was surveyed. The majority of site data is provided by recorders at the time a transect is created. Site data are crucial in order to determine where extra recording effort is required and to investigate where butterfly populations are changing most and thus where conservation should be targeted, including across different habitat types. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/226979d4-6d81-4f5b-9bb7-4a430caa7f51

Collated indices are a relative measure of butterfly abundance across sites monitored as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Data from all survey sites (standard UKBMS transects, Wider Countryside Survey transects and targeted species surveys such as timed, larval web and egg counts) are used in the calculation of these indices. The statistics are presented as log10 values. These values are centred round an arbitrary value of 2 as a mean for the time series in order to help show which years are below or above average. Collated indices are calculated annually for each individual butterfly species that has been recorded on five or more sites in that year. Indices are calculated at UK level and at individual country level for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where sufficient data are available. Based on this criterion, collated indices have been calculated for the entire time series from 1976 (UK, England and Wales), 1979 (Scotland) and 2004 (Northern Ireland) to the current year for the majority of species, but for some rarer species this has not been possible in some years, particular those in the first part of the time series. Collated indices are calculated using a log-linear model incorporating individual site indices from all monitored sites across the UK or country for a given species in a given year. The number of sites for each species ranges from five to several hundred or more and fluctuates from year to year. By 2010 almost 2,000 sites were monitored in total across the UK, with this number rising to more than 3,000 over the next decade. Collated indices are calculated so that we can determine how butterfly populations are changing over time across the UK. This data can be used, for example, to determine where to target conservation efforts and more generally the condition of the UK countryside. Butterflies are recognised as important indicators of biodiversity and environmental change, for example in UK and country Biodiversity Indicators, and have been used in numerous studies of the impacts of climate and habitat change on biodiversity. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/6177caa4-e68e-433c-8135-029ddfd3ba72

Collated indices are a relative measure of butterfly abundance across sites monitored as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Data from all survey sites (standard UKBMS transects, Wider Countryside Survey transects and targeted species surveys such as timed, larval web and egg counts) are used in the calculation of these indices. The statistics are presented as log10 values. These values are centred round an arbitrary value of 2 as a mean for the time series in order to help show which years are below or above average. Collated indices are calculated annually for each individual butterfly species that has been recorded on five or more sites in that year. Indices are calculated at UK level and at individual country level for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where sufficient data are available. Based on this criterion, collated indices have been calculated for the entire time series from 1976 (UK, England and Wales), 1979 (Scotland) and 2004 (Northern Ireland) to the current year for the majority of species, but for some rarer species this has not been possible in some years, particular those in the first part of the time series. Collated indices are calculated using a log-linear model incorporating individual site indices from all monitored sites across the UK or country for a given species in a given year. The number of sites for each species ranges from 5 to several hundred or more and fluctuates from year to year. By 2010 almost 2,000 sites were monitored in total across the UK, with this number rising to more than 3,000 over the next decade. Collated indices are calculated so that we can determine how butterfly populations are changing over time across the UK. This data can be used, for example, to determine where to target conservation efforts and more generally the condition of the UK countryside. Butterflies are recognised as important indicators of biodiversity and environmental change, for example in UK and country Biodiversity Indicators, and have been used in numerous studies of the impacts of climate and habitat change on biodiversity. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/1b522961-9d5e-460c-8762-389f2314e85b

This dataset comprises individual site indices for UK butterfly species calculated from data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). Site indices are a relative rather than an absolute measure of the size of a population, and have been shown to relate closely to other, more intensive, measures of population size such as mark, release, recapture (MRR) methods. The site index can be thought of as a relative measure of the population size, being a more or less constant proportion of the number of butterflies present. The proportion seen is likely to vary according to species; some butterfly species are more conspicuous and thus more easily detected, whereas others are much less easy to see. Site indices are only calculated at sites with sufficient monitoring visits throughout the season, or for targeted reduced effort surveys (timed observations, larval web counts and egg counts) where counts are generally obtained as close to the peak of the flight period as possible and are subsequently adjusted for the time of year and size of the site (area of suitable habitat type for a given species). Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) sites are thus excluded because they are based on very few visits from which indices of abundance are not calculated. For transect sites, a statistical model (a General Additive Model, 'GAM') is used to impute missing values and to calculate a site index. Each year most transect sites (over 90%) produce an index for at least one species and in recent years site indices have been calculated for over 2,000 sites across the UK. Site indices are subsequently collated to contribute to the overall 'Collated Index' for each species, which are relative measures of the abundance of each species across a geographical area, for example, across the whole UK or at country level for England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Individual site indices are important in informing conservation management as not all sites show the same patterns for each species and likely reflect a combination of local climate and habitat management at the site. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/1286b858-34a7-4ff2-84a1-a55e48d63e86

This dataset provides linear trends, over varying time periods, for the Collated Indices of individual butterfly species across the UK. The main statistical values derived from a linear regression (slope, standard error, P-value) are presented for the entire time series for each species (1976# to the present year), for the last 20 years, and for the last decade. In addition, trends are classified based on the direction and significance of a linear slope together with an estimated percentage change for that time period. These trend data are provided for all UK butterfly species for which we have sufficient data (58 species). Trends are calculated by performing a linear regression on the annual Collated indices for each species. Collated indices are calculated using a log-linear model incorporating individual site indices from all monitored sites across the UK for a given species in a given year. Trends across different time series allow us to determine the long and short-term status of individual species. This enables us to focus conservation and research and also to assess species responses to conservation already in place. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. #Because the Collated indices are only calculated for each species in years in which it was recorded on five or more sites, the starting year for the series is later than 1976 for a number of rarer species. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/512a71c7-dd2e-4caf-b0db-702b711bd153