Quantification of effect of bioturbating macrofauna on the abundance of genes and transcripts associated with nitrogen cycling in Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry.

This data set contains incubations with sediment cores to assess the effect of bioturbating macrofauna on the abundance of genes and transcripts associated with nitrogen cycling. The data were collected between 01-April-2015 to 28-August-2015 over 3 cruises on board the RRS Discovery (DY021, DY030, and DY034) in the Celtic Sea. The authors do not have any concerns over the quality of the data set and values are consistent with similar data reported in the wider literature. Replicate sediment cores (n = 5) of size 20 cm by 20 cm and depth 12 cm were collected from NIOZ cores taken at 4 sites (Muddy, site A; Sandy Mud, site G; Muddy Sand, site H; and Sand, site I). These sediment cores were transferred to clear perspex mesocosms and luminophores, coloured sand which fluoresces under ultra-violet light, were added to guide the selection of undisturbed and bioturbated sediment samples for RNA and DNA molecular analysis. The data were collected as part of the Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry (SSB) research programme as part of Module 3, Task 3.1.1 of the Biogeochemistry, Macronutrient and Carbon Cycling in the benthic layer (BMCC) research programme. SSB was co-funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The programme took a holistic approach to the cycling of nutrients and carbon and the controls on primary and secondary production in UK and European shelf seas, to increase understanding of these processes and their role in wider biogeochemical cycles. The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) created the metadata entry and is responsible for holding master copies of the data.