Time to developmental stage across temperature and food experiments in the larval purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

Trends in development time and time to metamorphic competency across temperature and food availability treatments were measured in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus larvae. Effects of temperature and food availability were tested using a 6 x 4 factorial experimental design with six temperature treatments (10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20°C) and four concentrations of Rhodomonas sp. microalgae (500, 2500, 5000, 10,000 cells mL-1) for a total of 24 treatment combinations. Developmental stage was determined in>50% individuals were of a certainstage and metamorphic competency was determined when >50% of larvae exhibited tube feet and adhered to the bottle. Time to metamorphic competency decreased exponentially with temperature with larvae at 10°C reaching competency in 61 days, larvae at 12ºC in 33 days, larvae at 14ºC in 29 days, larvae at 16ºC in 25 days, larvae at 18ºC in 22 days, and larvae at 20ºC in 21 days.This dataset includes the treatment combinations and days to metamorphic competency for each treatment combination.