Benthic datasets collected during the Plymouth Marine Laboratory Led 2015-2016 MERP Benthic field and Laboratory campaigns.

The data here presented were collected with the aim to understand the role of seaweed detritus as trophic subsidy to distal coastal benthic foodwebs, as well as their potential sequestration within those sediments. These data were collected by Plymouth Marine Laboratorys Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity group, during benthic-pelagic field campaigns undertaken at the Western Channel Observatory and Rame Head, between May 2015 and May 2016, as part of the NERC-DEFRA Marine Ecosystems Research Programme. The datasets include measurements undertaken on deck (RV Plymouth Quest) and in the Plymouth Marine Laboratorys Mesocosm laboratory. The data include stable isotope and elemental content data, as well as benthic process measurements. The dataset was used in the publication Queirós et al (2019) Connected macroalgal-sediment systems: blue carbon and foodwebs in the deep coastal ocean, Ecological Monographs.