Sea turtles are the best-known and more widespread marine reptiles. However, information on their distribution and the occurrence of most species, except for nesting beaches, remains scarce and sporadic, depending on sightings from fishing vessels, tourist activities and occurrences in coastal areas as well as fishing bycatch. Since the last updated species’ list for the Azores (Santos et al, 2010), no new species’ record was known for Azorean waters, until October 2020, with the confirmed sighting of an Olive Ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) (Barcelos et al. 2021). After that, in February 2021, a second individual was found stranded on Pico Island, already in an advanced state of decomposition. This increased the number of species present in Azores EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) to six out of the seven extant worldwide. The remaining one, Natator depressus (Garman, 1880), is native to the Indo-pacific (see Red List Standards & Petitions Subcommittee, 1996).

This dataset presente the distribution of testate amoebae in São miguel island (Azores archipelago)

During a LIFE research project aiming at the implementation of habitats conservation and restoration of coastal wetland areas of Praia da Vitória (Terceira, Azores, Portugal), there was the opportunity to undertake a systematic record of bryophytes in three wetland areas: Paul da Praia da Vitória (PPV), Paul do Belo Jardim (PBJ) and Paul da Pedreira do Cabo da Praia (PPCP). The objective of the study was to perform a rapid biodiversity assessment, comparing the three sites in two different years, before and after the implementation of several conservation measures. This project also contributed to improve the knowledge of Azorean bryophyte diversity at both local and regional scales, including the recording of new taxa for Terceira island and new records for Azores.

The University of Azores hosts the Azores Bioportal (http://azoresbioportal.uac.pt/) a regional E-Infrastructure. The Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP) is an e-infrastructure now associated with Portuguese PORBIOTA and LIFEWATCH. The ABP is a key e-infrastructure for the integrated management of biodiversity data of the Azores, providing a large number of specialized services supporting research, policy and education. The 3000 visits per day, the numerous international scientific collaborations, resulting in publications and academic thesis, and the connection with other prestigious databases demonstrate the Portal’s scientific quality as well as its general appeal. Several Natural History Collections are also managed by University of Azores, namely of Algae, Bryophytes, Vascular Plants, Molluscs and Arthropods.The Azorean Biodiversity Portal shares all the information available on the biodiversity of the Azores, one of the five Macaronesian archipelagos (the other being Madeira, Salvage Islands, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde). Macaronesia is recognized as an important part of the Mediterranean hotspot of biodiversity; however, a comprehensive systematic revision of its biodiversity was still lacking at the end of the 20th century.Based in two European INTERREG IIIB projects, an unprecedented collaboration of more than 200 taxonomists and other scientists resulted in accurate and comprehensive lists of terrestrial species in the Canary Islands (Izquierdo et al., 2001, 2004; Moro et al., 2003), Cape Verde (Arechavaleta et al., 2005), the Azores (Borges et al., 2005b, 2010) and Madeira–Selvagens (Borges et al., 2008). This unique collaboration was fundamental for creating the baseline taxonomic information for the ABP, updating the taxonomic information, listing synonyms.

During a LIFE project dedicated to the implementation of the conservation of the habitats and restoration of coastal wet areas of Praia da Vitória (Terceira, Azores, Portugal), there was the opportunity to study several groups of arthropods in three wet areas: Paul da Praia da Vitória (PPV), Paul do Belo Jardim (PBJ) and Paul da Pedreira do Cabo da Praia (PPCP). The objective of the study was to perform a rapid biodiversity assessment, comparing the three sites in two different years, before and after the implantation of several conservation measures. This project contributed also to improve the knowledge of Azorean arthropod diversity at both local and regional scales also including new taxa for Terceira island and new records for Azores. Taking into consideration those aims, a set of standardised sampling methods were performed inspired by the COBRA protocol originally developed for spiders. A total of 15,810 specimens belonging to 216 arthropod species and subspecies were collected. Beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera) and spiders (Araneae) dominate, with 81 and 51 taxa respectively. Two beetle families dominate, Staphylinidae and Curculionidae with respectively 22 and 17 species and subspecies. Exotic species also dominate with 131 species and subspecies, the Azorean endemic taxa being restricted to only eight taxa. The remaining 77 species and subspecies are native non-endemic. A total of six species are novel for the Azores (five exotic and one possibly native) and an additional 15 taxa are novel for Terceira island (9 exotic and 6 native).

The data presented here come from field observations between August 2013 and October 2018, as part of a LIFE research project aiming to preserve and restore three coastal wetlands from Praia da Vitória (Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal). Systematic monthly observations were carried out for five years in order to provide a checklist and monitoring of bird species and subspecies observed in three sites: Paul da Praia da Vitória (PPV), Paul do Belo Jardim (PBJ) and Paul da Pedreira do Cabo da Praia (PPCP). Main objectives were to determine their ornithological richness while also adding data to the overall knowledge of Azorean Avifauna and monitor seasonal and between years variation on species abundance.

The data we present are part of the long-term project SLAM (Long Term Ecological Study of the Impacts of Climate Change in the natural forest of Azores) that aims to understand the impact of biodiversity erosion drivers on Azorean native forests. Passive flight interception SLAM traps (Sea, Land and Air Malaise trap) were used to sample forest plots in both islands, with one trap being setup at each plot. A total of twenty 50m x 50m plots were sampled in two of the islands from the archipelago, 13 in Terceira and 7 in Pico. This publication contributes not only to a better knowledge of the arachnofauna present in native forests of Terceira and Pico, but also contributes to understand the patterns of abundance and diversity both seasonally and between years.

A recent review study from 2021 presents a comprehensive checklist of ladybirds of Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira Archipelagos. Until then, the available information was very scattered and based on a single revision dating back to 1986, a few international catalogues and databases, individual records, and studies on communities of agroecosystems. However, no information is available on faunal composition across the Azorean islands and their habitats, using standardized inventory. Here, we present data about biodiversity of ladybirds and their distribution and abundance in five Islands of the Azores (São Miguel, Graciosa, Faial, Pico, and S. Jorge). Surveys included herbaceous and arboreal habitats from native to anthropogenic managed habitats: ruderal road vegetation, vegetable garden, mixed forest of endemic and non-native habitats, costal prairies, costal mixed vegetation, cornfields, urban areas, and evergreen of endemic and exotic forest. We aimed to contribute to the ongoing effort to document the terrestrial biodiversity of Portugal, including the archipelago of the Azores, within the research project AZORESBIOPORTAL–PORBIOTA (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000072).

The dataset contains 412 records of Diptera species from the families Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, collected between 2003 to 2019 in Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira archipelagos (Ferreira et al., 2021; Oosterbroek et al., 2020; Starý, 2014). Specimens have been identified to species or subspecies level, in a total of 83 species representing 58% of the Craneflies known for Portugal. Specimens were captured during fieldwork directed specifically for the sampling of Diptera using different methodologies and the majority was stored in 96% ethanol. A tissue sample, usually a leg, was collected from each individual, from which DNA was extracted. The DNA barcoding of these specimens was conducted within the InBIO Barcoding Initiative (IBI), funded by the EnvMetaGen and PORBIOTA projects. The dataset “DNA barcodes of Portuguese Diptera 02 - Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae” is part of a group of Diptera datasets published by IBI, the first of which, “The InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: Diptera 01” (https://doi.org/10.15468/q1bvt3) has already been made available through GBIF. DNA barcode sequences were deposited in BOLD (Barcode of Life Data System) and GenBank databases. All DNA extracts are deposited in the IBI collection at the CIBIO (Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources).