Biological oceanographic measurements, 16S rRNA gene amplicons and metagenomes from surface seawater taken from August 2017 to June 2021 at sites within and adjacent to Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi

These data include temperature, pH, salinity, chlorophyll a concentrations, cellular abundances of Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, photosynthetic picoeukaryotes, and heterotrophic bacteria,16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon libraries, metagenomes, inorganic nutrient concentrations, and photosynthetic pigment measurements via high performance liquid chromatography from surface seawater samples collected as part of the Kāneʻohe Bay Time-series (KByT). This dataset reflects near-monthly sampling of surface seawater that was conducted between between August 2017 and June 2021 at 10-12 sites within and adjacent to Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Instruments used were a YSI 6,600 sonde, a ProDSS multi-parameter sonde, a Turner 10AU fluorometer, a Beckman Coulter CytoFLEX S flow cytometer, a Seal Analytical AA3 HR Nutrient Autoanalyzer, an Illumina MiSeq v2 platform, and the Illumina NovaSeq 6000.

These data reveal a remarkably persistent transition in surface ocean biogeochemistry, phytoplankton biomass, and phytoplankton community structure, despite high water exchange and define surface ocean biogeochemical and phytoplankton regimes over space and time across nearshore to offshore waters in the tropical Pacific. These results provide insight into drivers of seasonal and spatial variability of phytoplankton communities. Data were collected and analyzed by Sarah J. Tucker, Yoshimi M. Rii, Kelle C. Freel, Keliʻiahonui Kotubetey, A. Hiʻilei Kawelo, and Kawika B. Winter, Michael S. Rappé.