Foundational kelp species reveal links between host traits, the environment, and the associated microbial community

Canopy kelp are foundational species in coastal ecosystems and host diverse bacterial communities. The dataset was used to test the association between bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) host traits, blade-associated bacterial taxa, and seawater environmental features across nine sites spanning more than 200 km in Washington state. Traits related to kelp fitness, such as carbon fixation and nitrogen content,t as well as environmental features, are included in the dataset.
, , # Data from: Foundational kelp species reveal links between host traits, the environment, and the associated microbial community

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.j6q573nrw](10.5061/dryad.j6q573nrw)
datafile name: Pfister_NereocystisGeography_RoySocOpen_Oct2025.csv

## Description of the data and file structure

The data collected tested kelp uptake of carbon, the release of DOC, and tissue features across sites in Washington state. Data on surrounding nutrients are also included. NA indicates that data were not collected. Data on the microbial taxa present are archived with NCBI, #PRJNA1301461

Headings for each column of the data are described in order:
year
date
month
locale - within coastal Washington state; see Methods and Figure 1 in manuscript
Region – locale divided into 3 regions in coastal Washington state
Replicate – per site per year
wetmass_g – wetmass of *Nereocystis* tissue used in estimating carbon fixation, reported in grams
drymass_g - drymass of *Nereocystis* tissue used i...,