Composition and Distribution of Macrobenthic Invertebrate Fauna 



31 



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EXPLANATION 

 MEAN NUMBER OF ANIMALS 

 PES SQUARE METER OF BOTTOM 

 ALL TAXA COMBINED 



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PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION 



Figure 13 



Quantitative composition of the total macrobenthic invertebrate fauna in 

 relation to the six standard geographic subareas. A. — Mean number of 

 individuals per square meter of bottom area; B. — Percentage composition, 

 by density, of the major taxonomic groups. 



another was located in the vicinity of the southern end 

 of Great South Channel and southwestern Georges 

 Bank. Several smaller rich areas were encountered in 

 the coastal region of Rhode Island and New York. Gen- 

 erally, they occurred around the periphery of the Gulf 

 of Maine and off southern New England. 



Substantial differences in both biomass and density 

 existed among the six geographic areas (Tables 6, 7; Fig. 

 13A). Average density was highest (2,382 and 1,961/m 2 ) 

 on the Southern New England Shelf and on Georges 

 Bank, intermediate in Nova Scotia and the Gulf of 

 Maine, and lowest (about 300/m 2 ) on Georges Slope. 



