Recruitment data from 1997 to 2021 for mussels, barnacles and rockweeds from an LTREB project in the Gulf of Maine, USA

Experimental clearings in macroalgal (Ascophyllum nodosum) stands were made in 1996 to determine if mussel beds and macroalgal stands on protected intertidal shores in New England represent alternative community states. Uncleared control plots and four sizes of circular clearings (1m, 2m, 4m and 8m in diameter), which mimicked ice scour events, were established in A. nodosum stands at 12 sites on Swan’s Island, Maine, USA. The purpose of these datasets is to provide access to data on recruitment of mussels, barnacles and fucoid seaweeds in the 60 experimental plots from 1997 to 2021. Earlier versions of the data prior to 2013 can be found in Ecological Archives (E090-039 and E096-274). This EDI version includes corrections of errors in the versions in Ecological Archives. GPS coordinates of all 60 plots can be found in the EDI data package with data on densities and percent cover (https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/04bf8647c5bb39025aeeecae2e31d404). Research was funded by NSF's LTREB program.