Regional surveys of macrobenthic shelf invertebrate communities in Onslow Bay, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Despite its importance for quantifying ecosystem responses to environmental and anthropogenic drivers, our understanding of spatial heterogeneity in marine communities remains inadequate. Studies in coastal marine benthic habitats are sparse, and predominantly target single higher taxonomic groups. Here we describe macrobenthic marine invertebrate community surveys from 52 localities in Onslow Bay (Beaufort, North Carolina, U.S.A.), over an extensive geographic area (~200 km2). The data consist of 11,467 individuals, 175 species, and 7 phyla. The data include species abundance data for each sample at all localities, and corresponding species lists and locality information. The metadata describe the sampling protocols and localities. The data provided here will facilitate examination of assemblage heterogeneity with regards to spatial and temporal patterns, and depth gradient analyses.

尽管量化生态系统对环境与人为活动驱动因子的响应具有重要学术价值，但学界对海洋群落空间异质性的认知仍较为匮乏。目前针对沿海海洋底栖生境的相关研究仍较为稀缺，且大多仅聚焦于单个高级分类类群。本数据集源自美国北卡罗来纳州博福特市昂斯洛湾52个采样点的大型底栖海洋无脊椎动物群落（macrobenthic marine invertebrate community）调查，覆盖面积约200平方千米的广阔地理区域。该数据集共计包含11467个个体样本，涵盖7个门、175个物种。数据集包含所有采样点各样本的物种多度数据，以及对应的物种名录与采样点基础信息。元数据（metadata）则对采样方案与各采样点的详细信息进行了说明。本数据集将助力研究者开展群落异质性相关研究，包括空间与时间格局分析以及深度梯度分析。