Testing biodiversity-ecosystem function relations in nearshore marine sediments

Rapid biodiversity loss is raising concerns about potential declines in the functioning of Earth’s ecosystems. Although decades of research explore biodiversity-ecosystem function (BEF) relations, empirical BEF assessments have lagged behind theoretical advances, particularly in marine benthic systems. Here, we incubate intact sediment push cores to examine the relationship between macroinfaunal community composition and benthic nutrient cycling in three nearshore sub-Arctic sites. First, we quantitatively assess potential effects of taxonomic and functional diversity, as well as community-weighted trait means, on oxygen and nutrient fluxes. Second, we examine fluxes in relation to macrofaunal abundance, oxygen consumption (a proxy for total core metabolism), and abundance of key functional groups, to test fundamental expectations based on ecological theory. We report distinct macrofaunal communities and contrasting benthic fluxes among sites, with oxygen and ammonium largely driving mu..., , , # Testing biodiversity-ecosystem function relations in nearshore marine sediments

Data were collected from three intertidal soft-sediment sites around the island of Newfoundland, Canada, using manual sediment push cores. Nutrient (ammonium, silicate, phosphate, and combined nitrate/nitrite) and oxygen fluxes were measured during 24-hour incubations of sealed sediment cores. Cores were then sectioned into depth layers (0-2 cm, 2-5 cm, and 5-10 cm), and macrofauna were sieved through a 500 micron mesh, enumerated, and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level.

This dataset includes:

1. Raw abundance data and functional trait information, as well as nutrient and oxygen concentrations measured in each core; 
2. Taxonomic and functional diversity indices (including Hill numbers) calculated using common methods in the field;
3. Nutrient and oxygen flux rates calculated using common methods in the field; 
4. Code used to produce the figures, tables, and analyses in Clinton et al. (2...,