We conducted a long-term (6 months) multiple driver aquarium experiment under future environmental conditions at St Abbs Marine Station (UK) with the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (syn. Desmophyllum pertusum) sampled from Tisler Reef (Skagerrak). The experiment with live corals consisted of four different treatments to investigate the combined effect of ocean acidification, warming, deoxygenation and food limitation on their physiology: 1) control (9 °C, pH 8.1, 100 % oxygen, 100 % food availability), 2) multiple stressor with high feeding (12 °C, pH 7.7, 90 % oxygen, 100 % food availability), 3) multiple stressor with low feeding (12 °C, pH 7.7, 90 % oxygen, 50 % food availability) and 4) reduced oxygen (9 °C, pH 8.1, 90 % oxygen, 100 % food availability). Every treatment consisted of three replicate tanks with four live corals (treatments 1-4). Mortality rates and numbers of dead vs. live coral polyps were assessed over the full course of the experiment.

This dataset covers only the first 6 months of the experiment. Updated versions of the related datasets covering the entire 12-month experimental period are published (2025) and available for preferred reuse and are referenced here.