Data for: Differential habitat use of a notorious invasive fish, the round goby, in a translocation-relevant system

Anthropogenic structures can form novel ecosystem niches. Invasive species are often particularly successful in occupying these habitats and utilize them as beachheads for further spread. The invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus, Pallas 1814), an inherently bottom-dwelling fish, uses vertical harbour walls as habitat, enabling them to reach boats (i.e. potential translocation vectors). To evaluate the relevance of vertical habitat use for population dynamics and translocation, we exemplary investigated a population of round gobies in a harbour ecosystem. Specifically, we investigated differences in trophic niche characteristics, individual trophic specialization, phenotypic traits, and breeding frequency in wall versus bottom dwelling round gobies. Habitat-characteristic dietary signatures indicated habitat partitioning during the breeding season. Trophic niches overlapped but were clearly distinguishable between the habitats: walls were inhabited by 1.4 times more trophic genera...