Quantification of zooplankton fecal-pellet production by on-board incubation experiments during seven Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) cruises aboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer from Jul 2021 to Mar 2023

This dataset documents zooplankton fecal-pellet production, organismal traits, and zooplankton-mediated aggregation measured during seven Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) cruises (AE2112, AE2114, AE2124, AE2204, AE2214, AE2224, AE2306) aboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer between 2021-07-08 and 2023-03-26 in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda. Zooplankton were collected from the upper 300 m using MOCNESS tows and incubated onboard in 12-hour experiments conducted during both day and night. Species-specific fecal-pellet production rates were quantified from these incubations across all six cruises and are reported in this dataset, along with experiment metadata (cruise identifiers, collection and incubation times, and notes) and taxonomic identification of zooplankton used in each incubation. Supplemental files provide individual fecal pellet morphometrics, classification, and summed pellet volumes (Fecal_Pellets.csv), and individual zooplankton biovolume and biomass estimates from post-incubation images (FPP_Zooplankton.csv). 

Together with the related datasets, these datasets provide integrated measurements linking zooplankton identity, size, fecal-pellet production, pellet elemental composition, and aggregate formation, supporting process-based analyses of zooplankton roles in particle production and vertical carbon transfer at BATS. The data were collected aboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer through the collaborative efforts of the laboratories of Dr. Susanne Neuer, Dr. Amy Maas, and Dr. Leocadio Blanco-Bercial, affiliated with Arizona State University and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.