56 NOAA Technical Report NMFS 140 



this distribution to bottom sediments, bottom water 

 temperature, and sediment organic carbon content. 

 This arrangement was chosen for ease of reference 

 wherein all the information pertaining to a given taxon 

 is presented in one place, rather than dispersed among 

 several subsections, each dealing with a single abiotic 

 parameter. It is our hope that this arrangement will 

 allow the reader to make comparisons more easily 

 among the various taxonomic groups. 



Porifera 



Porifera constituted a moderately small proportion of 

 the fauna. They were generally uncommon on the con- 

 tinental shelf and uncommon to rare on the continen- 

 tal slope and rise. Specimens in our samples ranged from 

 small (2-mm) boring species occurring on or in mollusk 

 shells to moderately large (10 to 20 cm) Polymastia and 

 Myxilla usually found on cobbles and boulders. 



