In this study, lipid utilization and biological parameters of planula larvae of the cauliflower coral Pocillopora damicornis under future ocean conditions were examined using manipulative experiments. For the first 24 h following their release, planulae were cultured in seawater controlled to mimic a future ocean scenario (1030 μatm pCO2, 30.7 °C) as well as present-day, ambient ocean conditions (475 μatm pCO2, 28.1 °C; confirmed by autonomous sensors deployed at our study site). Abundance of wax ester, triacylglycerol, and phospholipids as well as traits of physiological status (total lipid, total protein, symbiont density, larval area, and larval length) were measured before and after incubations. These data are published in E.B. Rivest and G.E. Hofmann. 2015. Effects of temperature and pCO2 on lipid use and biological parameters of planulae of Pocillopora damicornis. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 473:43-52. These data are related to dataset knb-lter-mcr.5014, MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Seawater pH, Temperature and Depth Time Series from Bottom-mounted Sensors on the Fringing Reef, January-March 2012