Dataset: Metadata (location, depth, water temperature, salinity, etc.) describing end members compared to blue particles found in Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) traps

Fish carbonate samples were collected from Eleuthera, The Bahamas, in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2014, and Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, QLD, Australia in 2016. For more information regarding sample collection and processing, see the associated references (Salter et al., 2017; Salter et al., 2019; Salter et al., 2018; Salter et al., 2014; Salter et al., 2012).

Wild fish were collected from the local nearshore environments and housed in aquaria supplied with seawater filtered to 1 micrometer (µm) and maintained close to local ambient conditions (temperature = 24 to 32 degrees Celsius (°C); salinity = 35 to 37; pH (NBS) = 8.09 to 8.18). Food was withheld from fish during the sampling periods, and for 48 hours prior to allow the gastrointestinal tract to be completely emptied of dietary items and faeces. Excreted carbonates were collected at 24-hour intervals using a plastic Pasteur pipette and were immediately rinsed for a few minutes with distilled water before being immersed in sodium hypochlorite (<5 % w/v) for at least 6 hours to remove organic matter. Samples were then rinsed several times with distilled water before being transferred to 0.45 µm filters and dried at 50 °C. Samples collected in The Bahamas and Australia were primarily obtained from fish that had only ever consumed a mixed diet prior to their collection. However, several individuals of three species sampled in The Bahamas in 2011 (Lutjanus apodus, Albula vulpes, and Sphoeroides testudineus) were provided a diet of sardines (Sardinella aurita; Cap'n Salty, Raffield Fisheries Inc., Port St. Joe, FL; sourced from the Gulf of Mexico) for at least two weeks prior to carbonates being collected as normal (i.e., fish at fasting state).