Shell trace elemental fingerprints of the deep-sea methane seep mussel <em>Gigantidas Childressi</em> vary by depth, site, and growth region

Larval dispersal is a key driver of population persistence and resilience of marine metapopulations and communities. Determining where and how larvae disperse in the deep sea is one of the most vexing challenges in deep-sea ecology. We used laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to evaluate the potential role of trace elemental fingerprints (TEFs) of the deep-sea methane seep mussel Gigantidas childressi (n = 92 valves) in discriminating among collection depths, geographic regions (Gulf of Mexico and West Atlantic Margin; GOM and WAM), methane seep sites, and shell growth regions. A priori permutational analyses of variance (PERMANOVA) discriminated among mussel valve TEFs across a depth gradient (650 m to 2206 m), among eight methane seep sites, and among shell growth regions. A priori canonical analyses of principal coordinates (CAP) generally matched PERMANOVA results and additionally discriminated TEFs among geographic regions. Results for post-hoc analyses on individual shell growth regions varied by statistical approach (PERMANOVA VS CAP) and by shell growth region (larval prodissoconch I and prodissoconch II VS settler dissoconch shell). Post-hoc PERMANOVA discriminated only among sites, while post-hoc CAP discriminated among all study factors. Discrimination among depths was mainly driven by the elemental ratio Ba:Ca; discrimination among geographic regions was driven mainly by Ba:Ca and Sr:Ca; discrimination among sites and shell growth regions was driven by all three elemental ratios. Overall, shell TEFs show potential to discern spatial distribution of larval population pools. This dataset contains files and tools (e.g., MATLAB programs) associated with the raw data, data reduction/pre-proccessing, processing itself, and statistical analysis in PRIMER-e v7 software.幼体扩散是维持海洋集合种群与群落存续性和恢复力的关键驱动因子。明确深海幼体的扩散路径与扩散方式，是深海生态学领域最具挑战性的难题之一。本研究采用激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱法（laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry），对深海甲烷冷泉贻贝*Gigantidas childressi*（共92枚壳瓣）的微量元素指纹（trace elemental fingerprints, TEFs）开展分析，以评估其在区分采集深度、地理区域（墨西哥湾与西大西洋陆缘，简称GOM与WAM）、甲烷冷泉点位以及贝壳生长区域方面的应用潜力。 预先设定的置换方差分析（permutational analyses of variance, PERMANOVA）结果显示：不同深度梯度（650米至2206米）下的贻贝壳瓣微量元素指纹存在显著差异，8个甲烷冷泉点位间以及贝壳不同生长区域间的指纹特征亦具备区分度。预先设定的主坐标典范分析（canonical analyses of principal coordinates, CAP）结果与PERMANOVA基本吻合，且可进一步区分不同地理区域的指纹特征。 针对单个贝壳生长区域的事后分析结果因统计方法（PERMANOVA与CAP）以及生长区域类型的不同而存在差异：事后PERMANOVA仅能区分不同冷泉点位，而事后CAP则可区分所有研究因子。深度间的指纹区分主要由元素比值Ba:Ca驱动；地理区域间的区分主要由Ba:Ca与Sr:Ca比值主导；点位与贝壳生长区域间的区分则由三种元素比值共同驱动。总体而言，贝壳微量元素指纹具备识别幼体种群空间分布库的应用潜力。 本数据集包含与原始数据、数据约简/预处理、数据处理流程以及基于PRIMER-e v7软件开展的统计分析相关的文件与工具（如MATLAB程序）。