Title of the dataset:
Data underlying publication: Battle for the mounds: niche competition between upside-down jellyfish and invasive seagrass

Creators:
Fee O.H. Smulders 		(Wageningen University & Research, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands) ORCID:0000-0003-4124-8355
Naomi Slikboer			(Wageningen University & Research, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands)
Marjolijn J.A. Christianen 	(Wageningen University & Research, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands) ORCID:0000-0001-5839-2981
Jan Arie Vonk			(Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology (FAME), Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) ORCID:0000-0002-8803-1148

Related publication:
Battle for the mounds: niche competition between upside-down jellyfish and invasive seagrass, accepted at Ecology

Description:
This dataset contains data collected from field experiments studying the use of bioturbation mound as a niche for invasive seagrass settlement and growth, as well as for competition between invasive seagrass and upside-down jellyfish in the Dutch Caribbean. The experimental data describes how many native, invasive and upside-down jellyfish individuals were counted within the in total 20 plots divided over three treatments (natural bioturbation mounds, artificial bioturbation mounds and control vegetated plots) and was collected on the island of Curacao in a 45 day experiment. The transect data describes how the number of invasive seagrass shoots and bioturbation mounds are distributed over a spatial invasion gradient, comparing transect points close to shore (shore) and in the direction towards the center of the bay (inward) and was collected on Bonaire.

Keywords:
bioturbation; Cassiopea; colonization; competition; disturbance; exotic seagrass; habitat preference; Halophila stipulacea; landscape modification; patch dynamics

Spatial coverage:
Data was collected in Spanish water bay, Curacao and Lac bay, Bonaire

Temporal coverage:
Field data was collected in the period of November and December 2020 on Curacao and in February and March 2022 on Bonaire

This dataset contains the following files:
- Pilot_experiment.csv 	 - 	contains the data of the pilot experiment on Curacao
- Transects.csv 	 -	contains the Bonaire transect data
- Metadata.csv		 -	with explanations of all variables per datasheet
- Smulders_et_al_rcode.R -	includes the exploratory and statistical analyses conducted in the manuscript

Explanation of variables:
Can be found in the Metadata.csv file

Methods, materials and software:
The analysis was done using R, Version 1.2.5033
All information can be found in the publication, will be linked to the dataset once published online

This dataset is published under the CC BY (Attribution) license.
This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator.

