Quantification of macrofaunal activity in the Irish Sea.

This data set contains incubations with sediment cores to assess the macrofaunal activity in the Irish Sea. The data were collected between 23^rd June 2015 - 10^th July 2015 on board the RV Prince Madog cruise PD20150623. The authors do not have any concerns over the quality of the data set and values are consistent with similar data reported in the wider literature. Replicate sediment cores (n = 5) of size 20 cm by 20 cm and depth 12 cm were collected from NIOZ cores taken at 6 sites (Muddy sites: A2, A5, A10 with a history of low, medium and high intensity trawling respectively; Sandy sites: B3, B4, B8 with a history of low, medium and high intensity trawling respectively). The cores were transferred to clear, perspex mesocosms and incubated in a controlled temperature laboratory at the University of Bangor. Luminophores, coloured sand which fluoresces under ultra-violet light, were added to assess bioturbation. The mesocosms were then inoculated with sodium bromide to enable bioirrigation analysis. Sub-samples were analysed for particle size, total organic carbon, inorganic nutrients, faunal mediated sediment particle reworking and faunal abundance and biomass. The data were collected as part of the Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry (SSB) research programme as part of Module 3, Task 3.2.1 of the Biogeochemistry, Macronutrient and Carbon Cycling in the benthic layer (BMCC) research programme. SSB was co-funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The programme took a holistic approach to the cycling of nutrients and carbon and the controls on primary and secondary production in UK and European shelf seas, to increase understanding of these processes and their role in wider biogeochemical cycles. The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) created the metadata entry and is responsible for holding master copies of the data.