Lab-based measurements of carbonate substrate bioerosion and calcification using living date mussels (Lithophaga) collected outside Kaneohe Bay, at Site OAH-OCC-005, Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Ocean, from 2019-11-21 to 2020-01-08 (NCEI Accession 0224130)

This dataset includes lab-based measurements of carbonate substrate bioerosion and calcification using living date mussels (Lithophaga) collected outside Kaneohe Bay, at Site OAH-OCC-005, Hawaiian islands, Pacific Ocean, from 2019-11-21 to 2020-01-08. Lithophaga are important macroboring organisms in the Pacific Ocean, presenting a threat to the persistence of reef frameworks throughout the tropics and subtropics. They bore into their substrate through a combination of mechanical and chemical means of eroding carbonate to provide a living space for themselves, thereby weakening the structure. Despite their ubiquity, it is difficult to accurately estimate their rates of erosion through traditional means. As such, we proposed a study whereby living Lithophaga were placed into artificially created bore holes in standardized calcium carbonate cores (dead Porites lobata) to assess the erosion of this substrate over time. These plugs were dry and buoyant, and weighed at the start and finish of the experiment to assess potential loss of mass over the course of the experiment due to Lithophaga erosion. Control cores had no Lithophaga present.