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. P. damicornis larvae were collected in Moorea and Taiwan, two sites spanning the biogeographic range of the species: Moorea and Taiwan. Larvae released on the peak day of spawning were used at both sites. For the first 24 h following their release, planulae were cultured in seawater controlled to mimic a future ocean scenario (~900-1000 μatm pCO2, 30.5-31°C) as well as present-day, ambient ocean conditions (~400-450 μatm pCO2, 27.5-28°C; confirmed by autonomous sensors deployed at our study sites). 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 Rivest EB, Chen C-S, Fan T-Y, Li H-H, Hofmann GE. 2017 Lipid consumption in coral larvae differs among sites: a consideration of environmental history in a global ocean change scenario. Proc. R. Soc. B 20162825. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2825 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