These spreadsheets provide the sequences counts for the DNA groups found in the scats of Shy Albatross at Albatross Island, Tasmania, Australia. Samples were collected during three stages of the breeding season: Incubation (Late September 2014), Brood (December 2014) and Chick-rearing (March 2014 and 2015). Scat samples were collected from breeding birds, chicks and non-breeders. 'Breeders' were identified as individuals incubating an egg or attending a chick, whereas 'non-breeders' were usually pairs that had reoccupied the colony and were building new practice nests with no chick present. Non-breeders in the colony include immature birds that have not yet bred and mature birds of breeding age that did not breed in a particular season (e.g. no partner or insufficient body condition) Details of the molecular methods and synthesis of this data can be found in: McInnes, J.C., Alderman, R., Deagle, B.E. Lea, M-A., Raymond, B. and Jarman, S.N. 2016. Optimised scat collection protocols for dietary DNA metabarcoding in vertebrates. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

Our aim was to compare water and sediment as sources of environmental DNA (eDNA) to better characterise Antarctic benthic communities and further develop practical approaches for DNA-based biodiversity assessment in remote environments. We used a cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) metabarcoding approach to characterise metazoan communities in 26 nearshore sites across 12 locations (including Ellis Fjord, Warriner Channel, Hawker Channel, Abatus Bay, Powell Point, Shirokaya Bay, and Weddell Arm) in the Vestfold Hills (East Antarctica) based on DNA extracted from either sediment cores or filtered seawater. We detected a total of 99 metazoan species from 12 phyla (including nematodes, cnidaria, echinoderms, chordates, arthropods, annelids, rotifers and molluscs) across 26 sites, with similar numbers of species detected in sediment and water eDNA samples. Please cite: Clarke LJ et al. (2021). Environmental DNA metabarcoding for monitoring metazoan biodiversity in Antarctic nearshore ecosystems. PeerJ, DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12458 This work was completed as part of the Davis Aerodrome Project (DAP).