Plant wax evidence for precipitation and vegetation change from a coastal sinkhole lake in the Bahamas spanning the last 3000 years

•Leaf waxes were measured in a ∼3000-year sediment core from Abaco Island, Bahamas.•Abundance, carbon and hydrogen isotopic composition of n-alkanoic acids reported.•Terrestrial plant wax hydrogen and carbon isotopes record paleohydrology.•Mangrove expansion at ∼850 cal yrs BP modifies plant wax hydrogen isotopes.•We observe centennial variability in hydroclimate throughout the record.