DOI: 10.5061/dryad.sj3tx96c8
title: Data from: Species contributions to ecosystem stability change with disturbance type

description: Simultaneous exposure to multiple stressors complicates the challenge of
 predicting ecological responses to global environmental change. Here, we
 show that the contributions of individual species and functional groups to
 the overall stability of ecosystems can be modified by the presence of
 different stressors, both individually and in combination. By disturbing
 natural rocky shore communities with nutrients and sediments and
 simulating extinction of predatory whelks and grazers, we also found that
 consumers can simultaneously stabilise and destabilise communities along
 different stability dimensions, irrespective of their trophic position.
 Our results suggest that our experimental disturbances influenced consumer
 contributions to stability indirectly by modifying the interactions
 between consumers and macroalgae in different ways. These findings merit
 further exploration in different systems exposed to a range of different
 stressors to better understand how perturbations of different kinds can
 modify the multifaceted contributions of species to the overall stability
 of ecosystems.
description: This dataset contains species abundance matrices for monthly
 surveys of experimental plots at Rush, Co. Dublin, Ireland
 (53.524<strong>°</strong> N,
 6.078<strong>°</strong> W) over 15 months from August 2015. We
 measured the percent cover of macroalgae monthly using a 25 x 25 cm
 quadrat with 64 intersections, positioned centrally within cages to avoid
 sampling edge effects. Species present within the quadrat but not
 occurring underneath any of the intersections were assigned a cover value
 of 1%. We used the dataset to quantify four components of ecological
 stability, separately for both total algal cover (as a proxy for total
 algal biomass) and assemblage structure as measures of, respectively,
 functional and compositional stability. Please see Table 1 and methods
 section in the associated manuscript for details on calculating stability
 measures. R scripts for calculating stability measures and producing
 figures within the manuscript can be found here: https://github.com/lydiajanewhite/rush-paper-analysis
description: # Data from: Species contributions to ecosystem stability change with
 disturbance type ## Contact Lydia White, Tvärminne Zoological Station,
 University of Helsinki,
 [lydia.white@helsinki.fi](mailto:lydia.white@helsinki.fi) ## Description
 This dataset contains species abundance matrices for monthly surveys of
 experimental intertidal plots at Rush, Co. Dublin, Ireland (53.524° N,
 6.078° W) over 15 months from August 2015. Each row is a plot described by
 the following fields: * **Time**: Timepoint of the survey, ranging from 0,
 the beginning of the experiment, to 15 the end of the experiment.
 Timpoint: 6 corresponds to the last survey before the disturbance phase,
 which then continues to time 12. * **Month**: Month and year that the
 survey occurred * **Plot**: Experimental plot (n = 80) with unique
 identifier (letters or numbers) * **Diversity**: consumer treatment (C =
 none removed; B = Nucella lapillus (predator) removed; A = Nucella
 lapillus (predator) & Patella, Littorina & Gibbula (grazers)
 removed; D = uncaged controls) * **Nutrients**: Nutrient treatment (N1 =
 nutrients added, N0 = undisturbed) * **Sediment**: Sediment treatment (S1
 = sediment added, S0 = undisturbed) * **Treatment**: Combination of
 Diversity, Nutrients, & Sediment treatments to give unique treatment
 groups. * **macroalgal_cover** (one field per species, see abbreviation
 section): data are the number of intersections on a 25x25cm quadrat (64
 intersections total) under which the species lies converted into % cover
 values (species present in the quadrat, but not found under any of the
 intersections were assigned a cover value of 1%). ## Species names
 abbreviations * Bryopsis_sp: *Bryopsis spp.* * Cer_Ech: *Ceramium
 echiontum* * Cer_Nod: *Ceramium nodulosum* * Cer_Spiky: *Ceramium spp* *
 Cha_Lin: *Chaetomorpha linum* * Cho_Cri: *Chondrus crispus* * Chylo_Vert:
 *Chylocladia verticillata* * Clad_Spong: *Cladostephus spongiosus* *
 Cla_Rup: *Cladophora rupestris* * Cla_sp: *Cladophora spp* * Comp_Thu:
 *Compsothamnioin thuyoides* * Cor_Ofi: *Corallina officinalis* * Dic_Dic:
 *Dictyota dichotoma* * Dum_Cort: *Dumontia cortorta* * Ecto: *Ectocarpus
 spp* * Bro_Flu: *Elachista spp* * Fuc_Juv: *Fucus juvenile* * Fuc_Ves:
 *Fucus vesiculosus* * Fuc_Ser: *Fucus serratus* * Gel_Cri: *Gelidium
 crinale* * Hilden: *Hildenbrandia spp* * Lam_Juv: *Laminaria juvenile* *
 Leath_Dif: *Leathesia difformis* * Lith: *Lithothamniun spp* * Lom_Art:
 *Lomentaria articulata* * Mas_Stel: *Mastocarpus stellatus* * Osm_Hyb:
 *Osmundea hybrida* * Osm_sp: *Osmundea pinnatifida* * Pal_Pal: *Palmaria
 palmata* * Poly_Fuc: *Polysiphonia fucoides* * Porphyra: *Porphyra spp* *
 Rhizo_Rip: *Rhizoclonium riparium* * Gre_Fil: *Ulva compressa* * Ulva_Int:
 *Ulva intestinalis* * Ulva_Lac: *Ulva lactuca*