The influence of choice on feeding behavior of marine herbivores

These data describe the preferences of two herbivores, the wavy turban snail Megastraea undosa and the Pacific purple urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus for 14 macroalgal species relative to giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera and the role chemical defenses play in influencing herbivory. Data cover the raw grams consumed and total phenolic content of 15 total macroalgal species found in the Santa Barbara Channel and are taken from three Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research sites (Mohawk Reef, Arroyo Burro Reef, and Naples Reef).本数据集描述了两种草食动物——波纹马蹄螺（Megastraea undosa）与太平洋紫海胆（Strongylocentrotus purpuratus）相较于巨藻（Macrocystis pyrifera）对14种大型藻类的取食偏好，同时阐释了化学防御在影响植食作用中扮演的角色。数据集涵盖了圣巴巴拉海峡（Santa Barbara Channel）内15种大型藻类的实际摄食克数与总酚类物质含量，相关数据取自圣巴巴拉海岸长期生态研究的三个野外站点：莫霍克礁、阿罗约布罗礁与那不勒斯礁。