A stable isotope approach to assess the ecological role and fate of macroalgal decomposition in the Antarctic benthos at Rothera Research Station, 2021- 2022
GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/02219
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Summary
Abstract:
Data from two independent in situ decomposition experiments conducted at Rothera Research Station in two successive years (2021 and 2022). Mesh cages, containing macroalgal detritus isotopically enriched in 13C and 15N were deployed at an Antarctic soft sediment site. Numerical abundances of macroinvertebrate species as well as the isotopic contribution of macroalgae to macroinvertebrates and sediments were estimated across four time intervals for each experiment. Data contains in situ measurements of delta 13C and delta 15N stable isotope ratios from artificially enriched macroalgae, associated invertebrates and sediment and ecological abundances of macroinvertebrate grazers associated with cages containing macroalgae, deployed in situ at Rothera Research Station, West Antarctic Peninsula. This dataset contains code for Stable Isotope Mixing Models (SIMM) and code for Principle Component (PCoA) analysis and visualisations of species abundances.
This study was funded by core funding to UKRI NERC-BAS.
Keywords:
blue carbon, carbon and nitrogen isotope dual-labelling, macroalgal detritus, macroinvertebrate assemblages, stable isotope mixing models
Citation
Frontier, N., Stowasser, G., Peck, L.S., Barnes, D.K.A., Rosenfeld, S., Jazdzewska, A., & Morley, S.A. (2026). A stable isotope approach to assess the ecological role and fate of macroalgal decomposition in the Antarctic benthos at Rothera Research Station, 2021- 2022 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c01e2345-4406-404c-bbf2-f1a733077751
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Constraints
| Access Constraints: | Data are under embargo until publication of the associated manuscript. |
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| Use Constraints: | These data are governed by the NERC data policy http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/ and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. |
Basic Information
| Creation Date: | 2026-06-09 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK Polar Data Centre |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Nadia Frontier |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Gabriele Stowasser |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Lloyd S Peck |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | David K A Barnes |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Sebastian Rosenfeld |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Universidad de Magallanes |
| Name | Anna Jazdzewska |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Lodz |
| Name | Simon A Morley |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
Additional Information
| Quality: | Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was conducted on a Pyrocube EA elemental analyser coupled to a PrecisION isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Elementar Ltd). delta 15N and delta 13C abundances were reported as delta values and expressed as per mille deviations from the internal reference standards VPDB (Vienna PeeDee Belemnite), for carbon and air for nitrogen. Non-enriched working standards (ICE, DOM3, GTAM) and enriched working standards (AEA310A, AEA10B) were used to calibrate the machine. Primary standards (USG91, NEN2, SR2, DAP) and enrichment standards (GLU) calibrated sample delta 15N and delta 13C values and ACETANILIDE calibrated % nitrogen and % carbon values. Standard deviations of the working and primary standards remained within acceptable limits (+/- 0.1 per mille for both C and N) for enriched samples except for USG91, a vegetation standard, due to unusually high quantities of enrichment. NA's occur in isotope data where there was not enough reference material for isotope analysis. |
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| Lineage/Methodology: | Two in situ manipulative experiments were conducted across consecutive years to address temporal questions about macroinvertebrate biodiversity, macroinvertebrate assimilation and local sediment accumulation as macroalgae decompose, and potential inter-annual variability across both experiments. Macroinvertebrate biodiversity was sampled over time to investigate macroinvertebrate assemblage composition dissimilarity at the phylum level. Across a range of macroinvertebrate taxa, delta 13C and delta 15N dual isotope labelling was used to identify any temporal patterns in macroinvertebrate assimilation of macroalgal detritus. Finally, we analysed sediment samples, collected below experimentally decomposing macroalgae, where quantitative values of isotopically enriched delta 13C and delta 15N would indicate local sediment accumulation of carbon and nitrogen from experimentally enriched macroalgae detritus. | |
Locality
| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2021-02-14 |
| End Date | 2021-10-14 |
| Start Date | 2022-03-17 |
| End Date | 2022-12-30 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -67.59571 |
| Northernmost | -67.59571 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -68.2541 |
| Easternmost | -68.2541 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -67.59566 |
| Northernmost | -67.59566 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -68.25401 |
| Easternmost | -68.25401 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Antarctica |
| Detailed Location | Rothera Research Station, West Antarctic Peninsula |
Instrumentation
| Data Collection: | R studio (V. 4.4.1; R Core Team 2025) Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was conducted on a Pyrocube EA elemental analyser coupled to a PrecisION isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Elementar Ltd). |
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Storage
| Data Storage: | There are 6 files: Percentage_cover (csv), 12KB Biomass_exp1_exp2 (csv) 19 KB CN_ratios_exp1_exp2 (csv) 8KB Biota_allspecies_list (csv) 939 KB lnvertebrates _stable isotopes (csv) 75 KB Sediment_stable_isotopes (csv) 27KB |
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