Macroinfauna and sediment data from swash zones of sandy beaches along the SE Gulf of Mexico and SE Florida coast, 2010-2011, in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (NCEI Accession 0083190)

Sampling for macroinfauna from swash zones of beaches along the SE Gulf of Mexico and SE coast of Florida was conducted from May 2010- July 2011. At each site, sampling was conducted using sediment cores (10cm diameter, 20cm deep) and all sampling was conducted within 2 hrs of low tide. Cores were collected within an approximately 100m linear distance parallel to the shoreline at each site. Some sites were intensively sampled across 3 subareas of the swash zone: high (near maximum wave run-up), mid, and low (near maximum wave back-wash) swash. Core contents were washed through a 1mm mesh and contents retained on the sieve were returned to the laboratory and frozen at 4°C. In the laboratory, samples were sorted and all macroinfauna removed. The dominant macroinfauna Donax variabilis (coquina) and Emerita talpoida (mole crab), making up over 99% of all organisms, were enumerated. Mean number (SD) per core and subarea within the swash zone are reported.

Additionally, three 60 ml cores were collected for sediment analyses from within the swash zones of all beaches, on or near each sampling date. Sediment samples were returned to the laboratory, dried for 24 h at 60°C, and median grain size determined.