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Canopy kelp are foundational species in coastal ecosystems and host diverse bacterial communities. The dataset was used to test the association between bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) host traits, blade-associated bacterial taxa, and seawater environmental features across nine sites spanning more than 200 km in Washington state. Traits related to kelp fitness, such as carbon fixation and nitrogen content,t as well as environmental features, are included in the dataset. # Data from: Foundational kelp species reveal links between host traits, the environment, and the associated microbial community Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.j6q573nrw](10.5061/dryad.j6q573nrw) datafile name: Pfister_NereocystisGeography_RoySocOpen_Oct2025.csv ## Description of the data and file structure The data collected tested kelp uptake of carbon, the release of DOC, and tissue features across sites in Washington state. Data on surrounding nutrients are also included. NA indicates that data were not collected. Data on the microbial taxa present are archived with NCBI, #PRJNA1301461 Headings for each column of the data are described in order: year date month locale - within coastal Washington state; see Methods and Figure 1 in manuscript Region – locale divided into 3 regions in coastal Washington state Replicate – per site per year wetmass_g – wetmass of *Nereocystis* tissue used in estimating carbon fixation, reported in grams drymass_g - drymass of *Nereocystis* tissue used in estimating carbon fixation, reported in grams mgCfixed_gdrymass_hr – the mg of Carbon fixed per g drymass of *Nereocystis* per hour DOCmgl_release_gdrymass_hr_corr01 - the mg of dissolved organic Carbon released per g drymass of *Nereocystis* per hour, with 0.01 added to all values to allow analyses of log values for all and to avoid dividing by zero (see below) DOC_um_hr_drymass - the uM of Carbon dissolved organic Carbon released per g drymass of *Nereocystis* per hour to_po4 - the initial P04 concentration in uM to_si - the initial SiO4 concentration in uM to_no3 - the initial NO3 concentration in uM to_no2 - the initial NO2 concentration in uM to_nh4 - the initial NH4 concentration in uM to_DIN - the initial dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration in uM uM_DOC_to -the initial dissolved organic carbon concentration in uM tf_po4 - the final P04 concentration in uM tf_si -the final SiO4 concentration in uM tf_no3 - the final NO3 concentration in uM tf_no2 - the final NO2 concentration in uM tf_nh4 - the final NH4 concentration in uM tf_DIN - the final dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration in uM no3_uptake_h_gdm - the uM change in NO3 per hour per gram drymass of *Nereocystis* bulb_diam - widest part of bulb, in mm blade_length - blade length used in assay, in cm Repro – indication of whether kelp is reproductive (R) or not (NR) deln - the delta 15N, stable isotope ratio of Nitrogen, in *Nereocystis* tissue delc - the delta 13C, stable isotope ratio of Carbon, in *Nereocystis* tissue pctn - the percent of tissue nitrogen (as dry mass) in *Nereocystis* tissue pctc - the percent of tissue carbon (as dry mass) in *Nereocystis* tissue c_n - the ratio of tissue carbon to tissue nitrogen (pctc/pctn) temperature - in deg C salinity - in ppt ratioCfixtoDOCrel - the ratio of inorganic carbon fixed to dissolved organic carbon released (mcCfixed_gdrymasshr/DOCmgl_release_gdrymass_hr_corr01) ## Access information Data on the microbial taxa present are archived with NCBI, #PRJNA1301461
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Functional Trait Measurements of Macroalgal Communities in the Santa Barbara Channel
This dataset contains trait and elemental composition data for macroalgal samples collected across depth gradients at multiple sites in the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Each sample represents an individual specimen characterized by morphological measurements (e.g., blade thickness, stipe diameter, total height), biomass of anatomical parts (blade, stipe, holdfast, reproductive tissue), and anchoring strength. In addition, biochemical traits—including carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and hydrogen (H) content—were measured from tissue samples analyzed in the analytical laboratory. These data support a trait-based modeling approach to macroalgal community structure and distribution, contributing to our understanding of functional diversity and ecosystem dynamics in temperate marine systems. Accompanying metadata include collection site, date, time, depth, location coordinates, and substrate type, providing context for environmental variation across samples.
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- PAR ID:
- 10660962
- Publisher / Repository:
- Environmental Data Initiative
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Canopy kelp are foundational species in coastal ecosystems and host diverse bacterial communities. Here, we test the association between bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) host traits, blade-associated bacterial taxa and seawater environmental features across nine sites spanning more than 200 km in Washington state. Traits related to kelp fitness, environmental features and microbial community structure differed geographically. Kelp carbon fixation and tissue nitrogen content were greater at outer coast locales, compared with more inland locales in central and south Puget Sound. Geographic differences in carbon fixation rates, tissue nitrogen and bulb diameter were positively correlated with seawater nutrients and negatively correlated with sea surface temperature. Bacterial taxa showed differentiation among sites, and blade-associated bacterial densities were higher at the outer coast site compared with the most inland site. Yet, 11 bacterial genera were present in at least 80% of the samples; these taxa probably serve as core members of theN. luetkeanamicrobiome and show both positive and negative correlations with host health and environmental features. We show that there are strong interrelationships between kelp traits, seawater features and bacterial community composition with implications for the health of this highly productive foundational species in coastal ecosystems.more » « less
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