These data were used to analyze aquatic invertebrate habitat use, focusing on the Diopatra cuprea and Gracilaria vermiculophylla system at three different sites on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We analyzed biomass loss of algae in the field, abundance, richness, and community patterns of invertebrates on algae anchored to either D. cuprea tube caps or worm mimics, and habitats which specific aquatic invertebrates used when given multiple options. We found that the common Ulva spp. showed the highest biomass loss, we saw an interaction between site, algal species, and mimics in the field, and we observed a preference for one of the aquatic invertebrates, Gammarus mucronatus to use the G. vermiculophylla habitat over Ulva spp. regardless of worm presence.

Contact Alexander Mott ([amott3@gmu.edu]) with any questions. This manuscript is accepted for publication (11/29/24)

Mott, A.W., A.M.H. Blakeslee, S.A. Krueger-Hadfield, A.E. Fowler, Is macroinvertebrate habitat use driven by the cascading effects of a native polychaete and a non-native alga? Ecosphere (accepted). ECS24-0109.R1

R Script (file:Mott_Ecosphere_2025_Codes.R) can be found with the rest of these data files.

Data files:

##Algae_Weights_Figure.csv
This file contains weights of algae for the biomass retention experiment, and was used to run the GLM for that experiment, and to generate Figure 2. All data were collected by authors.

##RichnessandAbundanceOutlierDeleted.csv
##RichnessandABundanceGraphed.csv
The file RichnessandAbundanceOutlierDeleted.csv was used to run the GLM for species richness, and to generate Figure 3. The file RichnessandAbundanceGraphed.csv was used to run the GLM for species abundance, and to generate Figure S1, Figure S2, and Figure S3. Both "RichnessandAbundanceGraphed.csv" and "RichnessandAbundanceOutlierDeleted.csv" have the same format with the same variables. The latter excludes a few samples where species richness was calculated at >50/gram for analysis purposes. All data were collected by the authors.

##MostAbundantSpecies.csv
This files contains counts of the four most abundant species across all three sites measured, and is used to create Figure 4. All data were collected by the authors.

##AlFarmAllDataWeightAdjusted.csv
This file is used to run non-metric Multidimensional Scaling analyses on the samples collected, which was subsequently used to generate Figure 5. All data were collected by the authors.

##AbundanceWeightSimperEnv.csv
This file contains the environmental data for each sample. This file, along with "AbundanceWeightSimper.csv" are used for the SIMPER analyses. All data were collected by the authors.

##AbundanceWeightSimper.csv
This file contains the counts of all species found in each sample. This file, along with "AbundanceWeightSimperENV.csv" are used for the SIMPER analyses. All data were collected by the authors.

##OysterWormUlRare.csv
##OysterWormGVRare.csv
##OysterControlUlRare.csv
##OysterControlMixRare.csv
##OysterControlGVRare.csv
##QuinbyWormUlRare.csv
##QuinbyWormMixRare.csv
##QuinbyWormGVRare.csv
##QuinbyControlUlRare.csv
##QuinbyControlMixRare.csv
##QuinbyControlGVRare.csv
##MachoWormMixRare.csv
##MachoWormGVRare.csv
##MachoControlUlRare.csv
##MachoControlMixRare.csv
##MachoControlGVRare.csv
These files contain the s(est) data used to produce the rarefaction curves. Each file is named in such a way where the first word represents the site: either Macho (Machipongo), Oyster, or Quinby, the second word represents if the data comes from either Control (Worm Mimic Control) or Worm (Live Worm), and the third word represents the anchored algae: GV (Gracilaria vermiculophylla), Ul (Ulva spp.) or Mix (Mixture of both Gracilaria vermiculophylla and Ulva spp.). Estimate data was calculated using EstimateS software. All data were collected by authors.