McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: Benthic macrofaunal abundances in Explorers Cove in 1970s and 2010 and in Salmon Bay in 1988-89 and 2010

• Main Authors: Dayton, Paul K, Jarrell, Shannon C, Kim, Stacy L, Parnell, Ed P, Thrush, Simon F, Hammerstrom, Kamille K, Leichter, James J
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Environmental Data Initiative 2018
• Subjects: Antarctic; Ross Sea; McMurdo Sound; Dayton; Explorers Cove; Salmon Bay; Antarc*; Antarctica; United States Antarctic Program
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/053de1fb427e26ce37b617447c5778e8; https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?packageid=edi.108.1

In 2010 we had the opportunity to revisit historical transects and experiments set up by Dayton et al. in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Using the SCINI ROV we were able to revisit sites we had dived previously, including some deeper sites that are no longer diveable by current United States Antarctic Program policies. Revisitng these sites enabled us to study and document long-term changes in benthic biota at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. These are data on benthic macrofaunal abundance collected in the 1970s, late 1980s, and 2010. We are making these data available to researchers for future observations of community change in the nearly pristine environment of the Ross Sea, Antarctica.