Data from: A latitudinal cline in the taxonomic structure of eelgrass epifaunal communities is associated with plant genetic diversity

Biogenic structural complexity increases mobile animal diversity and
abundance at local, regional, and global scales. Yet taxa vary in their
response to complexity, and when these taxa functionally differ, variation
in structure created by foundation species may affect ecosystem function.
We characterized global patterns of epifaunal mesograzers in eelgrass beds
that varied in structural and genetic composition across 30° latitude.
Total mesograzer richness decreased with latitude, but this was
accompanied by a taxonomic shift from peracarid to gastropod dominance.
Greater eelgrass genetic diversity was strongly correlated with both
richness and abundance of peracarids, but less so for gastropods. These
two taxa exhibited complementary functional traits, creating an
association between genetic diversity and animal functional traits at the
site level across the eelgrass range. Our results add to a growing body of
literature that suggests genetic variation in plant traits influences the
structure and function of faunal assemblages across broad spatial scales.

# Data from: A latitudinal cline in the taxonomic structure of eelgrass
epifaunal communities is associated with plant genetic diversity --- ##
Description of the data and file structure Environmental, species
abundance and trait data were collected from 50 sites in the Zostera
Experimental Network (ZEN) in 2014. This dataset consists of 5 data files:
1. Bug_traits.csv, created February 21, 2023. Trait data for peracarid
crustaceans found in epifaunal community samples. \* eat.microalgae,
eat.macroalgae, eat.seagrass, eat.seagrass.detritus, suspension.feeder,
detritivore.deposit.feeder, carnivore.parasite.scavenger: Binary feeding
traits. Does the animal eat the specified food source or feed in the
specified way? * broadcast.spawner.brooder.lays.egg.case: Parental care
traits. Is the animal a broadcast spawner, brooder, or does it create an
egg case? * lecithotrophic.planktotrophic.direct.development:
Developmental mode. Does the animal have lecithotrophic or planktotrophic
larvae, or is it a direct developer? * mode.obs.size: Mode body size, as
measured by sieving epifauna through a series of 9 sieves with pore sizes
of 0.5, 0.71, 1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8 mm * max.obs.size: Maximum body
size, measured as described above * mean.obs.size: Mean body size,
measured as described above * max.lit.size.mm: Maximum body size in mm as
described in the literature. * max.lat: Maximum absolute latitude, from
filtered point occurrences collected from GBIF and OBIS. * min.lat:
Minimum absolute latitude, from filtered point occurrences collected from
GBIF and OBIS. * lat.range: Absolute latitudinal range, from filtered
point occurrences collected from GBIF and OBIS. * lat.mean: Mean absolute
latitude, from filtered point occurrences collected from GBIF and OBIS *
marine, brackish, freshwater: Binary salinity traits. Does the animal
occur in the specified habitat? 2. Snail_traits.csv, created February 21,
2023. Trait data for gastropod mollusks found in epifaunal community
samples. Traits are as described above. 3. plot_data.csv, created August
19, 2016. Count and taxonomic data for each species found in each of 20
samples (one per plot) from each site. Each species was size-sorted into a
series of 9 sieves of different mesh sizes. * Site.Code: Two-letter code
for each broader site containing two paired subsites. * Site: One of two
paired subsites within each region, with site code. * Subsite: One of two
paired subsites within each region. * Site.Code.Sampling.Time: Which of
the two sampling times the site was sampled. * Plot.ID: Which plot (of 20)
was sampled in each subsite. * Unique.ID: Unique combination of site,
subsite, plot, and sampling time for each plot. * Old.Species.Name:
Original name as identified in 2014. * Sieve.8, Sieve.5.6, Sieve.4,
Sieve.2.8, Sieve.2, Sieve.1.4, Sieve.1, Sieve.0.71, Sieve.0.5: Number of
individuals collected in each sieve (mesh size in mm) * Unknown.Size:
Number of individuals of unknown size * Bodies: Number of headless bodies
* Heads: Number of bodiless heads * Total.Abundance.Whole: Total abundance
of whole animals across all sieves * Total.Abundance.Partials: Total
abundance of whole and partial animals across all sieves * Molts: Number
of molts * Species.Revised: Species name from WoRMS, 2016 * Group.Revised:
Broader taxonomic group * Subspecies, Species, Subgenus, Genus, Tribe,
Subfamily, Family, Superfamily, Subsection, Section, Parvorder,
Infraorder, Suborder, Order, Superorder, Infraclass, Subclass, Class,
Superclass, Subphylum, Phylum: Taxonomic ranks from WoRMS, 2016 *
Finest.Taxonomic.Resolution: The name for the finest taxonomic level of
the animal from WoRMS, 2016 * Finest.Taxonomic.Resolution.Level: The rank
of the finest taxonomic level of the animal from WoRMS, 2016 4.
grass_plots.csv, created April 17, 2023. Eelgrass morphological
measurements were collected from each of the 20 plots in each site. *
Site.Code: As described above * Site: As described above * Sampling.Time:
As described above * Unique.ID: As described above * Plot.ID: As described
above * Shoots.Zmarina.per.m2: Number of shoots in a standard 20-cm
diameter wire sampling ring, standardized to square meters. *
Mean.Sheath.Width.cm.: Mean width of eelgrass shoots measured at the end
of the leaf sheath (where leaves emerge), averaged over 5 random shoots *
Mean.Sheath.Length.cm.: Mean length of eelgrass leaf sheaths, averaged
over 5 random shoots * Mean.Longest.Leaf.Length.cm.: Mean length of the
longest leaf on an eelgrass shoot, averaged over 5 random shoots *
Mean.Above.Zmarina.g: Total aboveground biomass of eelgrass averaged
across two 20-cm diameter cores. 5. site_data.csv, created August 20,
2017. Site-level summary data on eelgrass habitat structure, in-situ
abiotic environmental data, predation intensity, and abiotic environmental
data collected from the Bio-Oracle dataset. * Site.Code: As described
above * Site: As described above * Subsite: As described above *
Subsite.Name: The name of the subsite * Ocean: Was the site in the
Atlantic or Pacific? * Coast: Combination of ocean and basin value for
each site * Basin: Was the site on the eastern or western margin of the
ocean? * Latitude: Subsite latitude * Longitude: Subsite longitude *
Sampling.Time: Which of the two sampling times the site was sampled *
Month: Month corresponding to the sampling time * Date.Collected: Date the
subsite was sampled * Temperature.C: In-situ temperature (ºC) *
Salinity.ppt: In-situ salinity (ppt) * GenotypicRichness: Effective number
of distinct genotypes * AllelicRichness: Average number of alleles per
locus, normalized to 7 genets * Mean.Shoots.Zmarina.per.m2: Average shoot
density across 20 plots per subsite. * Mean.Site.Std.Periphyton: Mean
epiphyte load (g cm-2 eelgrass) * Mean.Site.Std.TotalEpibiota: Mean total
epibiont load (g cm-2 eelgrass) * Mean.Macroalgae.g.m2: Mean plot-level
macroalgal biomass * Sheath.Width.cm.: Average eelgrass sheath width
across 20 plots per subsite * Sheath.Length.cm.: Average eelgrass sheath
length across 20 plots per subsite * Longest.Leaf.Length.cm.: Average
length of the longest eelgrass leaf across 20 plots per subsite *
Above.Zmarina.g TOTAL.Seagrass.Biomass: Total aboveground eelgrass biomass
* Total.Seagrass.Biomass.Above: Total aboveground seagrass biomass
(eelgrass and others, if present) * Mean.Leaf.PercN: Mean % Nitrogen of
measured eelgrass leaves. * Mean.Leaf.PercC: Mean % Carbon of measured
eelgrass leaves. * Mean.Pred.Amphipod, Mean.Pred.Gastropod,
Mean.Pred.Lettuce, Mean.Pred.Squid: Predation on tethered animals or kale,
averaged across 20 prey tethering units per subsite. *
Mean.Epifaunal.Richness: Average observed epifaunal richness across 20
plots per subsite * Mean.Total.Abund: Average epifaunal abundance across
20 plots per subsite * Mean.Std.Total.Abund: Average epifaunal abundance
across 20 plots per subsite, standardized by macrophyte biomass * Omega:
Site-level aragonite saturation state. * calcite: Site-level calcite
concentration (mmol m-3) * chlomax, chlomean, chlomin, chlorange:
Site-level maximum, mean, minimum, and range of chlorophyll a (mg m-3) *
cloudmax,cloudmean, cloudmin: Site-level maximum, mean, and minimum %
cloud cover * damax, damean, damin: Site-level maximum, mean, and minimum
diffuse attenuation coefficient (m-1) * dissox: Site-level dissolved
oxygen concentration (mmol m-3) * nitrate: Site-level nitrate
concentration (mmol m-3) * parmax, parmean: Site-level maximum and mean
photosynthetically active radiation (E m-2 year-1) * ph: Site-level pH *
phos: Site-level phosphorus concentration (mmol m-3) * phosphate:
Site-level phosphate concentration (mmol m-3) * salinity: Annual mean
site-level salinity (ppt) * silicate: Site-level silicate concentration
(mmol m-3) * sstmax, sstmean, sstmin, sstrange: Annual maximum, mean,
minimum, and range of sea surface temperature (ºC) ## Sharing/Access
information * Data was derived from the following sources: Species
abundance and environmental parameters were collected according to
protocols described in Gross et. al 2024 (doi: 10.1111/geb.13918), Duffy
et al. 2022 (doi: 10.1073/pnas.2121425119), Gross et al. 2022 (doi:
0.1098/rspb.2021.1762), and Reynolds et al. 2018 (doi: 10.1002/ecy.2064),
the World Ocean Database and Bio-ORACLE. Trait data was compiled from
literature, measured individuals, and the Ocean Biogeographic Information
System and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility records as
described in the Methods section and supplementary materials of Gross et
al. 2024. ## Code/Software Most_Analyses.R is a script covering data
curation and most analyses recorded in the manuscript, including: *
Modeling latitudinal gradients in richness and species composition in
epifaunal communities * Modeling the relationships between the richness
and abundance of peracarids and gastropods and the genetic diversity and
structural complexity of eelgrass. * Examining the relationship between
the relative abundance of peracarids vs. gastropods in a site and the
similarity of site-level community-weighted mean functional traits.
RF_model_selection.R is a script that runs a random forest analysis on
predictor traits from site_data.csv to select candidate predictors that
are then compared by AICc scores and subject to model selection.
GEB_figures.R is a script that creates all of the figures in the main text
and supplementary material.