DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6t1g1jx7g
title: Infauna shift trait-productivity relationships in submerged aquatic vegetation communities

description: This data and code (RStudio) are associated with the peer-reviewed
 research article, titled 'Root puppet masters: Infauna shift
 trait-productivity relationships in submerged aquatic vegetation
 communities'. The data is a product of a 15-week in situ
 transplant experiment in the northern Baltic Sea. It involved experimental
 submerged aquatic plant communities with, and without, experimental
 additions of Macoma balthica, a sedentary bivalve. Experimental plant
 communities were tricultures with varying species composition, compiled
 from a pool of 6 different species, to create an experimental gradient of
 trait community weighted means (CWMs) that allowed us to detect changes
 more clearly in plant trait-biomass production relationships in response
 to the M. balthica treatment. The plant species used in the experiment
 were Zostera marina, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Zannichellia major, Ruppia
 cirrhosa, Stuckenia pectinata and Myriophyllum spicatum.
description: For a full description of data collection and processing, please
 see the Methods section in the article, 'Root puppet masters: Infauna
 shift trait-productivity relationships in submerged aquatic vegetation
 communities'. The text file is an accessible format of RStudio
 script, which explicitly shows how data was handled.
description: # Infauna shift trait-productivity relationships in submerged aquatic
 vegetation communities
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6t1g1jx7g](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6t1g1jx7g) ## Description of the data and file structure Data was collected during a 15-week transplant experiment conducted *in situ* in the northern Baltic Sea. Artificial triculture communities of submerged aquatic vegetation species were constructed (30 x 30 cm), using mixtures of 6 different plant species. Their species assemblage was designed to create a gradient in measureable plant functional trait values. The artificial plant communities were replicated, so that every artifical plant community came in pairs. One of the pairs was treated with an experimental addition of ten adult *Macoma balthica* additions and the other served as a control treatment. The *M. balthica* treatment was administered using a mark-recapture approach. At the end of the experiment, the experimental communities were harvested and measured for biomass production and plant functional trait variability. A detailed description of the methods is found in: 'Root puppet masters: Infauna shift trait-productivity relationships in submerged aquatic vegetation communities', by C. Angove, A. Norkko & C. Gustafsson (2024). ### Files and variables #### File: Transplant\_data.xlsx **Description:**  When data is not available, NA is given. ##### Variables *  In Sheet 'Tidy_plot_data': Trait community-weighted means after harvest, and biomass measurements, for each artificial plant community * Plot_ID: ID code for the artificial plant community. e.g., 'VA1': 'V' = 'Vindskären'; 'A' = Located in experimental grid 'A', '1' = ID number within the experimental grid * AG_rhizomes: Dry weight of aboveground rhizomes at harvest (mg) * BG_rhizomes: Dry weight of belowground rhizomes at harvest (mg) * Leaves: Dry weight of leaves at harvest (mg) * Roots: Dry weight of roots at harvest (mg) * AG_biomass: Dry weight of aboveground biomass at harvest (mg) * BG_biomass: Dry weight of belowground biomass at harvest (mg) * Total_biomass: Dry weight of total biomass at harvest (mg) * Rhizomes: Dry weight of all rhizomes at harvest (mg) * Macoma: 'Yes' or 'No'. Indicates whether a community has been treated with clam additions. * Height_CWM: Community-weighted mean height at harvest (cm) * Shoot_count: Count of all individual shoots at harvest * Fresh_shoot_count: Count of all green individual shoots at harvest * Leaf_area_CWM: Community-weighted mean leaf area at harvest (mm²) * SLA_CWM: Community-weighted mean specific leaf area at harvest (mm² / mg dry weight) * Primary_root_length_CWM: Community-weighted mean primary root length at harvest (cm) * Root_length_CWM: Community-weighted mean root length at harvest (cm) * SRL_CWM: Community-weighted mean specific root length at harvest (mm / mg dry weight) * d13C_CWM: Community-weighted mean delta carbon-13 (VSMOW, ppt) of new leaf tissue at harvest * C_CWM: Community-weighted mean carbon content (% of dry weight) of new leaf tissue at harvest * N_CWM: Community-weighted mean nitrogen content (% of dry weight) of new leaf tissue at harvest * CN_CWM: Community-weighted mean carbon:nitrogen ratio of new leaf tissue at harvest (% of dry weight: % of dry weight) * Productivity_SUM: Total community biomass production (mg dry weight / day) * Shoot_production: Total community shoot production (shoots per day) * d15N_CWM: Community-weighted mean delta nitrogen-15 (VSMOW, ppt) of new leaf tissue at harvest * Start_biomass: Estimated biomass of the experimental community, at the start of the experiment. Estimate based on mean species biomass per transplanted individual, and frequency of individuals successfully transplanted (mg dry weight) *    In Sheet 'Tidy_species_traits': Species trait measurements, and biomass measurements, after harvest, within each artificial plant community * Species: Plant species * Sample_ID: Identifier for species data. Experimental plot ID (e.g. 'VA1', 'VA2'), followed by species identifier. The species identifier is the first three letters from its genus, because each species in the experiment was from a different genus * Belowground_rhizomes: Dry weight of aboveground rhizomes at harvest (mg) * Decayed_zos: Dry weight of *Zostera* *marina* leaves which appeared to be decayed, at harvest (mg) * Leaves: Dry weight of leaves, at harvest, from the bulk sample (excluding subsampled leaves) (mg) * Longest_leaves: Dry weight of largest leaves which were subsampled for separate analysis of leaf trait measurements (mg) * nleaves: Dry weight of new leaf samples, which were subsampled for isotopic and elemental analyses (mg) * All_leaves: Dry weight of all leaves, including leaves subsampled for different trait measurements (mg) * Roots: Dry weight of roots, at harvest, from the bulk sample (excluding subsampled roots) (mg) * Seeds: Dry weight of seeds at harvest (mg) * Ten_roots: Dry weight of the ten longest primary roots at harvest, which were subsampled for root trait measurements (mg) * All_roots: Dry weight of all roots at harvest, including roots subsampled for different trait measurements (mg) * BG_biomss: Dry weight of belowground biomass at harvest (mg) * Aboveground_rhizomes:  Dry weight of aboveground rhizomes at harvest (mg) * AG_biomass: Dry weight of aboveground biomass at harvest (mg) * Rhizomes: Dry weight of all rhizomes at harvest (mg) * Total biomass: Dry weight of all biomass at harvest (mg) * Median_height: Median of height measurements at harvest (cm) * Height_count: Count of shoots measured for median height estimate * Fresh shoots: Count of green individual shoots at harvest * Old shoots: Count of non-green individual shoots at harvest * All_shoots: Count of all individual shoots at harvest * Start_shoot_count: Frequency of shoots successfully transplanted at the start of the experiment (quantified by scuba diver) * Shoot_production: Rate of shoot production during the experiment (shoots per day) * Leaf_area: Mean leaf area of the largest intact leaves from five individuals of a species at harvest (mm²) * SLA: Mean specific leaf area of the largest intact leaves from five individuals of a species at harvest (mm² / mg dry weight) * Median_primary_root_length: Median length of the 10 longest primary roots from at least 5 individual plants of a species at harvest (cm) * Median_root_length: Median length of the 10 longest primary roots from at least 5 individual plants of a species at harvest, including non-primary roots (cm) * SRL: Mean specific Root Length of the roots used for 'Median_primary_root_length' (mm / mg dry weight) * C_pctDW: Carbon content of new leaf tissue at harvest (% of dry weight) * N_pctDW: Nitrogen content of new leaf tissue  at harvest (% of dry weight) * CN: Carbon to nitrogen ratio of new leaf tissue at harvest (% of dry weight: % of dry weight) * d13C: delta carbon-13 (VSMOW, ppt) of new leaf tissue at harvest * d15N: delta nitrogen-15 (VSMOW, ppt) of new leaf tissue at harvest * Plot_ID: ID code for the artificial plant community. e.g., 'VA1': 'V' = 'Vindskären'; 'A' = Located in experimental grid 'A', '1' = ID number within the experimental grid * Productivity: Estimated biomass production during the experiment  (mg dry weight / day) * Macoma: 'Yes' or 'No'. Indicates whether a community has been treated with clam additions * Species_start_biomass: Estimated biomass at the start of the experiment (mg dry weight). Estimate based on mean species biomass per transplanted individual, and frequency of individuals successfully transplanted * In 'Height_plot_data' Sheet: Trait community-weighted means for artificial plant communities, alongside various descriptive statistics for plant height, applied to species within an artificial community and artificial communities * Plot_ID: ID code for the artificial plant community. e.g., 'VA1': 'V' = 'Vindskären'; 'A' = Located in experimental grid 'A', '1' = ID number within the experimental grid * Median_height_1: Median of height measurements at harvest for species 1 in the community (cm) * Median_height_2: Median of height measurements at harvest for species 2 in the community (cm) * Median_height_3:  Median of height measurements at harvest for species 3 in the community (cm) * Species_1: Identity of plant species 1 in the artificial community  * Species_2: Identity of plant species 2 in the artificial community  * Species_3: Identity of plant species 3 in the artificial community  * Ninetieth_percentile_1: Ninetieth percentile of height measurements at harvest for species 1 in the community (cm) * Ninetieth_percentile_2: Ninetieth percentile of height measurements at harvest for species 2 in the community (cm) * Ninetieth_percentile_3: Ninetieth percentile of height measurements at harvest for species 3 in the community (cm) * Tenth_percentile_1: Tenth percentile of height measurements at harvest for species 1 in the community (cm) * Tenth_percentile_2: Tenth percentile of height measurements at harvest for species 2 in the community (cm) * Tenth_percentile_3: Tenth percentile of height measurements at harvest for species 3 in the community (cm) * Productivity_1: Estimated biomass production during the experiment  (mg dry weight / day) for species 1 in the community * Productivity_2: Estimated biomass production during the experiment  (mg dry weight / day) for species 2 in the community * Productivity_3:  Estimated biomass production during the experiment  (mg dry weight / day) for species 3 in the community  * All_shoots_1: Count of all individual shoots at harvest for species 1 in the community * All_shoots_2: Count of all individual shoots at harvest for species 2 in the community * All_shoots_3: Count of all individual shoots at harvest for species 3 in the community * AG_rhizomes: Dry weight of aboveground rhizomes at harvest (mg) * BG_rhizomes: Dry weight of aboveground rhizomes at harvest (mg) * Leaves: Dry weight of leaves at harvest (mg) * Roots: Dry weight of roots at harvest (mg) * AG_biomass: Dry weight of aboveground biomass at harvest (mg) * BG_biomass: Dry weight of belowground biomass at harvest (mg) * Total_biomass: Dry weight of all biomass at harvest (mg) * Rhizomes: Dry weight of all rhizomes at harvest (mg) * Macoma: 'Yes' or 'No'. Indicates whether a community has been treated with *Macoma balthica* additions * Height_CWM: Community-weighted mean height at harvest (cm) * Shoot_count: Frequency of vertical shoots * Fresh_shoot_count:  Frequency of vertical shoots, green shoots only * Leaf_area_CWM: Community-weighted mean leaf area at harvest (mm²) * SLA_CWM: Community-weighted mean specific leaf area at harvest (mm² / mg dry weight) * Primary_root_length_CWM: Community-weighted mean primary root length at harvest (cm) * Root_length_CWM: Community-weighted mean root length at harvest (cm) * SRL_CWM: Community-weighted mean specific root length at harvest (mm / mg dry weight) * d13C_CWM: Community-weighted mean delta carbon-13 (VSMOW, ppt) of new leaf tissue at harvest * C_CWM: Community-weighted mean carbon content of new leaf tissue at harvest (% of dry weight) * N_CWM: Community-weighted mean nitrogen content of new leaf tissue at harvest (% of dry weight) * CN_CWM:  Community-weighted mean carbon to nitrogen ratio of new leaf tissue at harvest (% of dry weight: % of dry weight) * Productivity_SUM: Total community biomass production (mg dry weight / day) * Shoot_production: Total community shoot production (shoots per day) * d15N_CWM: Community-weighted mean nitrogen-15 (VSMOW, ppt) of new leaf tissue at harvest * Start_biomass: Estimated biomass of the experimental community, at the start of the experiment. Estimate based on mean species biomass per transplanted individual, and frequency of individuals successfully transplanted (mg dry weight) * Height_range: The height range (cm) between the 90th percentile of the tallest species, and the 10th percentile of the shortest species, in an experimental community * Upper_median_height_difference: The height difference (cm) between the median height of the tallest species and the second tallest species, in an experimental community * In 'Macoma_data' Sheet: Identification of *Macoma balthica* samples, and their trait measurements * Sample_ID: Source of the *Macoma balthica* sample. All sample IDs are plot IDs which identify the experimental plot from which the clams were retrieved, except for 'VSTART'; which represented clams subsampled from those about to be transplanted in experimental communities (to represent 'start' traits) * Site_code: Code for the site where samples were retrieved ('V'). All samples were from Vindskären * Patch_code: The experimental block where the plot was located (Sum = 6 blocks) * Replicate: Replicate ID for each Sample_ID * Red: 'Yes' or 'No'. Identifies whether the clam measured was marked, and therefore part of the mark-recapture approach. Unmarked clams ('No') are part of the background clam communities * Length_mm: Length of valve (mm) * Width_mm: Width of valve (mm) * Wet_weight_with_shell_mg: Wet weight of individual, including valve and tissue (mg) * Wet_weight_without_shell_mg: Wet weight of tissue, without valve (mg) * In 'Plant_checks' Sheet: Community changes during the experiment: * Date: Date of the visit (DD.MM.YYYY) * Check_ID: Qualitative description of the visit to better identify its nature (Checks 1 to 4 are non-destructive monitoring events by SCUBA, while PLANTING is the original community composition that was implemented at the start of the experiment when the communities were being planted) * Experiment_ID: Alternatively, Plot_ID. Identification of an experimental plant species and its location. The plot ID and the first 3 letters of the plant genus (each species had a unique genus). When there are not the first 3 letters of a plant genus, the plot ID was a bare sand control treatment * Site: The study site * Patch: The experimental block where the plot was located (Sum = 6 blocks) * Plot: The number of the plot within each experimental block (Sum = 8 plots per block). * Species: The plant species in an experimental plant community, whose monitoring data is being reported. Grid control = bare sand control treatment * Sample_ID: Identification of an experimental plant species and its location. The plot ID and the first 3 letters of the plant genus (each species had a unique genus). When there are not the first 3 letters of a plant genus, the plot ID was a bare sand control treatment * Plants: Frequency of individual intact plants counted * Shoots: Frequency of individual shoots counted * Drift_algal_index: Qualitative assessment of drifting algae, on a scale of 0-4 (0 = none, 1 = traces, 2 = parts of plants covered, 3 = most of plants covered, 4 = thick mat) * In 'Plotpatch' Sheet: A guide for the location of each experimental community * Sample_ID: Identification of an experimental plant species and its location. The plot ID and the first 3 letters of the plant genus (each species had a unique genus). When there are not the first 3 letters of a plant genus, the plot ID was a bare sand control treatment * Plot_ID: The identification of the plot that contained experimental communities * Patch: The experimental block where the plot was located (Sum = 6 blocks) * Plot: The number of the plot within each experimental block (Sum = 8 plots per block). ## Code/software The software needed to view to data is Microsoft Excel. The script is formatted for RStudio, and it demonstrates an example of data handling and analysis for the data. To use the script, copy and paste it from the text file into a blank R Script in RStudio. To apply the data in the script, save each Microsoft Excel worksheet into a separate excel file in the format of CSV (Comma delimited), with file names equal to their worksheet names.