Functional changes across marine habitats due to ocean acidification

Global environmental change drives diversity loss and shifts in community structure. A key challenge is to better understand the impacts on ecosystem function and to connect species and trait diversity of assemblages with the possible consequences for ecosystem function. Here we quantify shifts in species composition and trait diversity associated with ocean acidification (OA) by using field measurements at marine CO2 vent systems spanning four reef habitats across different depths in a temperate coastal ecosystem. We find that both species and trait diversity decreased and that ecosystem properties (understood as the interplay between species, traits, and ecosystem function) shifted with acidification. Furthermore, shifts in trait categories such as autotrophs, filter feeders, herbivores, and habitat-forming species were habitat-specific, indicating that OA may produce divergent responses across habitats and depths. Combined, these findings reveal the importance of connecting species a..., Sampling design of benthic surveys. Percent cover of 215 benthic species was quantified using two approaches with scuba diving: i) visual census techniques in Shallow Reef (benthic surveys were performed from 0.5 to 3 m depth) and Reef habitats (benthic surveys at ~10 m depth) dominated by algae and ii) photographic surveys in Caves (benthic surveys at ~3 m depth) and Deep Reef habitats (benthic surveys at ~ 40 m depth) dominated by sessile invertebrate animals. For visual censuses, 12 quadrats (25x25 cm) were haphazardly placed at Vent 1 and Vent 3 and the two corresponding ambient pH sites (n = 3 sites per habitat, n = 36 quadrats for Shallow Reefs and Reefs, respectively). For photographic surveys, 48–54 and 24 photoquadrats (25x25 cm) were taken at Vent 2 and Vent 4 and the two corresponding reference sites with ambient pH for each habitat (n = 3 sites per habitat, n = 144 photographic quadrats for Caves and n = 72 photographic quadrats for Deep Reefs, respectively). Both types of q..., , # Functional changes across marine habitats due to ocean acidification

This repository contains the ecological data files used to analyze the data and generate the results for this study

## Description of the data and file structure

Data S1 is the raw data of percent cover of benthic species obtained from field surveys. Each quadrat measures 25x25 cm. It includes: Quadrats (label of the quadrat), species (species name), cover (percentage), and description.condition (description of the habitat and pH condition).

Data S2 is the code of 7 traits (and categories) for the 215 species identified in this study. It includes: Species (species name), FE (combination of the 7 Functional Entities), and the 7 traits with their categories. The traits are: 1) morphological form, 4 categories: a) encrusting, b) filaments, c) massive, and d) tree-like; 2) feeding, 6 categories: a) autotroph, b) filter feeders, c) herbivores/grazers, d) carnivores, e) detritivores, and f) parasites; 3) growth rates...