100 



NOAA Technical Report NMFS 140 



Pogonophora 



Pogonophora (beard worms) are a minor 

 consituent of the New England benthos. They 

 provided less than 0. 1 % of the total number of 

 specimens and biomass of organisms in the study 

 area (Table 3). Nevertheless, they contributed 

 some unique records to the study. Chief among 

 them was a proclivity for deep, cold water. These 

 unusual animals were one of only a few taxo- 

 nomic groups that were more abundant in deep 

 water than in shallow water. 



Pogonophores inhabit chitinous tubes buried 

 in the bottom sediments. The tubes in our col- 

 lections ranged in length from about 5 to 15 cm 

 and had diameters from 0.1 to 0.4 mm. The 

 colors of the tubes varied from very light tan to 

 dark brown, but were most frequently of a green- 

 ish-yellow to brownish-green hue. The majority 

 of them exhibited alternating light and dark 

 rings or bands. Embryos were not uncommon in 

 the tubes from our samples. Preserved speci- 

 mens varied in color from whitish to brown; the 

 most common colors observed were cream to 

 light reddish tan. 



The two existing orders of pogonophores, the 

 Athecanephria and Thecanephria, are repre- 

 sented in our collections by species from the 

 genera Siboglinum, in the former, and Diplo- 

 branchia and Crassibrachia, in the latter. Six species were 

 obtained; the most common were Siboglinum ekmani 

 Jagersten. S. pholidotum Southward and Brattegard, and 

 Diplobrachia similis Southward and Brattegard. Less com- 

 mon were Siboglinum holmei Southward, S. angustum 

 Southward and Brattegard, and Crassibrachia sandersi 

 Southward. Siboglinum holmei was distinctive for its oc- 

 currence in the Gulf of Maine and was the only species 

 of this phylum found in the Gulf. Furthermore, it was 

 taken in close proximity to land, at the point nearest 

 land, at station 1 171, less than 5 km from Grand Manan 

 Island and 10 km from the mainland coast of the U.S. 

 Water depth at this location is 141 m. 



Pogonophora occurred in 56 samples (5% of total); 

 their density averaged 0.6/m 2 and their biomass aver- 

 aged less than 0.01 g/m 2 (Table 5). 



Geographic Distribution 



Pogonophores were widely distributed along the conti- 

 nental slope and continental rise from New Jersey north- 

 ward to Nova Scotia but rarely occurred on the conti- 

 nental shelf (Fig. 75). In coastal waters they were en- 

 countered in only the most northerly part of the study 

 area, near Grand Manan Island (New Brunswick), 

 Canada, and Eastport, Maine. Their average density 

 throughout the study area was low or moderately low, 



between 1 and 51/irr. Because of their small size and 

 low density the average biomass of pogonophores was 

 very small, less than 0.2 g/m 2 in all localities sampled. 



Among the six standard geographic areas, pogo- 

 nophores were present in significant quantities only in 

 the Georges Slope and Southern New England Slope 

 areas (Tables 6-9; Fig. 76) where density in those two 

 areas averaged 3 and 5/m , respectively, and biomass 

 0.01 and 0.03 g/m 2 , respectivelv. 



In view of the relatively recent date (Ivanov, 1963) 

 this phylum was first reported from the New England 

 Region, the frequency of occurrence in this series of 

 samples should be considered unexpectedly high. 

 Pogonophores occurred in 35% of the samples from 

 Georges Slope and in 42% of the Southern New En- 

 gland Slope samples (Table 10). In two other geo- 

 graphic areas they were present in 2% or less of the 

 samples. Thev were absent in the Georges Bank and 

 Southern New England Shelf areas. 



Bathymetric Distribution 



Pogonophores were found at depths from 141 to 2,870 

 m. Not only were members of this phylum restricted to 

 deep water, but their density, biomass, and frequency 

 of occurrence were higher in the middle and deeper 

 portions of their range than in shallow parts (Fig. 77). 



