SBC LTER and MBON: Sea urchin microbiomes in Southern California

Sea urchins are key grazers in coastal seas, where they can survive a variety of conditions and diets, enhancing their ecological impact on coral reefs, kelp forests, and other ecosystems. These data describe a comparative study of the microbiomes of the two dominant sea urchin species in southern California, the red urchin Mesocentrotus franciscanus, and the purple urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus across three rocky reef habitats that differed in the types and availability of food resources: kelp forests, urchin barrens and a hydrocarbon seep.