Benthic macroinfaunal community abundance, richness, and biomass data taken at the Mississippi barrier islands, 2010-2023

This dataset contains metrics of benthic assemblages taken before (pre) and after (post) barrier island restoration of the Mississippi Barrier Islands, which included sand placement on Cat and Ship Islands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers the barrier islands along the Mississippi-Alabama coast as critical habitats for certain threated and endangered shorebird species. Barrier islands are inherently dynamic environments, facing frequent natural disturbances and undergoing rapid change. Understanding the distribution and community responses of benthic communities is critical for predicting the impact that restoration efforts and natural disturbances will have on shorebird foraging habits in the Mississippi Barrier Islands. Data were collected at both reference and restoration sites in 2011, 2015, 2020, 2023. Sites were selected based on shorebird foraging habitat, proximity to sand placement, and potential sand borrow sites. The data provided here includes wet biomass, raw density and richness, mean density and richness, and species percent abundance. These data will be used to inform the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) Monitoring and Adaptive Management Plan (MAMP).