Trait expression of marine benthic assemblages across the UK shelf modelled for the years 1976 to 2020

The data consist of two trait expression datasets described in Bolam, Downie and Cooper (2023). Used in conjunction with a number of raster data layers (see paper for details) and the accompanying R script, these data can be used to generate all paper outputs (i.e. Figures and Tables).
The two traits datasets provide trait expression-by-station for combinations of 'Response' and 'Effect' trait categories. Response traits (i.e., Morphology, Egg Development, Living Habit, Sediment Position, Mobility) relate to a taxon’s ability to respond (i.e., withstand/tolerate/recover) to a natural or anthropogenic change in the environment, whilst Effects traits (i.e. Body Size, Longevity, Larval Development, Feeding Mode, Bioturbation Mode) reflect differences in functional potential. Trait expression is calculated for each sample by multiplying taxon abundances (4th root transformed) by their corresponding fuzzy coded trait modalities, with values then summed across each trait modality.
Both the macrofaunal abundance and traits data used in this study and from where this published dataset derives, come from the OneBenthic portal (https://rconnect.cefas.co.uk/onebenthic_portal/). Macrofauna data pertain to ~33 thousand 0.1m2 grab and core samples processed over a 1mm sieve and collected between 1976 and 2020. Traits data held in OneBenthic originate from Clare et al. (2022), but have been augmented to account for some additional taxa.
Note that a small number of individual datasets used in the Bolam et al. (2023) study are not publicly available and have therefore been withheld from this doi. These withheld datasets are not created nor owned by Cefas. These datasets are listed in the accompanying file 'withheld_surveys.csv'. To obtain these withheld datasets (in order to replicate the analyses undertaken in Bolam et al. (2023)), please contact the data owner as listed in the table. Cefas will then allow access to such withheld data where it can be shown that permission has been obtained from the data owner. All publicly available data pertaining to this doi are made available under the terms of an ‘Open Government Licence’ https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.
References
Bolam, S.G., Downie, A-L., Cooper, K.M. (2023).Mapping marine benthic biological traits to facilitate future sustainable development. Ecological Applications (in press).
Clare, D.S., Bolam, S.G., McIlwaine, P.S.O., Garcia, C., Murray, J.M. and Eggleton, J.D. (2022). Biological traits of marine benthic invertebrates in Northwest Europe. Scientific Data 9:339 (https://rdcu.be/cPF8A)
All collection and data processing methods, including quality standards can be found in either material from OneBenthic (https://rconnect.cefas.co.uk/onebenthic_portal/) or Clare et al. (2022).
Clare, D.S., Bolam, S.G., McIlwaine, P.S.O., Garcia, C., Murray, J.M. and Eggleton, J.D. (2022). Biological traits of marine benthic invertebrates in Northwest Europe. Scientific Data 9:339 (https://rdcu.be/cPF8A)
As a number of peer-review publications have been produced based on these data (macrofaunal abundances and traits information), the reader can be assured of their suitability for use.