SBC LTER and MBON: Sea urchin microbiomes in Southern California

Sea urchins are key grazers in coastal seas, where they can survive a variety of conditions and diets, enhancing their ecological impact on coral reefs, kelp forests, and other ecosystems. These data describe a comparative study of the microbiomes of the two dominant sea urchin species in southern California, the red urchin Mesocentrotus franciscanus , and the purple urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus across three rocky reef habitats that differed in the types and availability of food resources: kelp forests, urchin barrens and a hydrocarbon seep.