McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: Cape Armitage, sponge abundance and cover and photo ID information for 1968 and 2010

In 2010 we had the opportunity to revisit historical transects and experiments set up by Dayton et al. in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Using the SCINI ROV we were able to revisit sites we had dived previously, including some deeper sites that are no longer diveable by current United States Antarctic Program policies. Revisiting these sites enabled us to study and document long-term changes in benthic biota at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. These are data on sponge abundance and percent cover collected in 1968 and 2010. We are making these data available to researchers for future observations of community change in the nearly pristine environment of the Ross Sea, Antarctica.