Dataset: General trends after forty years of predictive models applied to benthic macroinvertebrates from the marine, estuarine and freshwater environment

The reporting of this systematic literature review was guided by the standards of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) Statement. PRISMA is a guideline that helps researchers to report more clearly the methodology applied in systematic reviews (i.e., information source, eligibility criteria, selection of included studies, data extraction and analysis) in order to make it more transparent and reliable (Moher et al., 2009; Sarkis-Onofre et al., 2021).

The main steps in the classification of studies for this systematic review are depicted in Figure 1. Studies were identified in the Web of Science database in December 2020 applying the limit date from 1945 to 2020, using the following search terms: ((model* OR simula*) AND (benth* OR macrozoobenth* OR macrobenth OR macroinvertebrates OR invertebrates) NOT (Benth OR Bentham OR Bentheim OR Bentheimer OR BENTHEM OR BENTHIOCARB OR benthamii OR benthamiana)).