140 



NOAA Technical Report NMKs 140 



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Figure 134 

 Density and biomass of Cephalopoda in relation to sediment organic carbon. 



known species (Barnes, 1974), is commonly referred to 

 as sea spiders. These organisms are found throughout 

 the world ocean from the Arctic to the Antarctic and 

 are considered to he common in occurrence. Most 

 species prefer cold waters, and although some do swim, 

 most are bottom dwellers and feed on hydroids, bryozo- 

 ans, soft corals, anemones, and sponges. The sexes are 

 separate and the males brood the developing eggs on 

 specialized oviferous legs. They are for the most part 

 small, ranging in length from 1 to 10 mm; however, a 

 few species are much larger with body lengths of more 

 than 6 cm and leg spans to 75 cm. Thev are found at 

 nearly all depths but many species are littoral in habits. 

 Color tends to be drab, but some pycnogonids are 

 green and a few deepwater species are red. 



Sea spiders were not very abundant in the study area, 

 contributing less than 0.19? to total biomass and den- 

 sity (Table 3). In spite of this low abundance, a total oi 

 10 species were identified from our samples (see Table 

 4). They ranged in depth from 18 to 1,420 in and were 



mostly 5 to 15 mm in size, with a few to 25 mm in 

 length. Specimens ranged in color from flesh colored 

 to dark tan and light brown. 



Pycnogonids occurred in 25 samples (2.3% of total) 

 which yielded a total of 369 individuals; mean number 

 yvas 0.3/m L and biomass 0.01 g/m- (Table 5). 



Geograph ic Di si rib u tio n 



The distribution of pycnogonids was quite patchy in the 

 New England region, exhibiting inshore and offshore 

 components (Fig. 140). The inshore component was 

 composed of isolated patches of low density (1-9/m 2 ) 

 and low biomass (<(). 1-0.9 g/m ) on the Nova Scotian 

 shelf and inshore Gulf of Maine and in Long Island 

 Sound. Patches of moderate density (10-49/m'-), but 

 low biomass, were located at the entrances to the Bay of 

 Fundy and Long Island Sound. 



The offshore component contained patches of low 

 density and biomass on Browns Bank, the Western Ba- 

 sin of the Gulf of Maine, and the periphery of Georges 



