Time-series data of DeSoto Canyon macrofauna abundances, diversity metrics, and biological indicators obtained aboard the R/V Weatherbird II cruises: WB1305, WB1306, WB1405, WB1411, in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2012-09-25 to 2014-06-09

This dataset contains time-series data of DeSoto Canyon macrofauna abundances, diversity metrics, and biological indicators obtained aboard the R/V Weatherbird II in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2012-09-25 to 2014-06-09 and used to characterize patterns of faunal temporal patterns in the canyon and evaluate the effect of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Project data was generated from sediment cores collected from 5 stations in the canyon and 2 stations from the adjacent slope, from 2012 to 2014. Three replicate deployments of an MC-800 Multicorer were conducted at each site. Each core had a diameter of 10 cm. Four cores from each deployment were sectioned on deck into 0−1, 1−5, and 5−10 cm fractions and fixed whole in 10% formalin. Metrics on faunal and feeding guild abundance, diversity, and community structure were derived from the cores. Metrics of various biological indicators including the benthic polychaete/amphipod ratio and Deepwater Horizon macrofaunal indicator community proportions were measured from the faunal abundance data. The dataset also includes the dates, longitude, and latitude of sample collection.