Composition and Distribution of Macrobenthic Invertebrate Fauna 



tent the Blake and Fish Haii'k; however, the latter two 

 also operated in offshore areas, as did the Albatross and 

 the chartered fishing schooner./osw Reeves (Packard, 1874, 

 1876: Agassiz, 1881; Smith and Rathbun, 1882; Tanner, 

 1882; Smith and Rathbun, 1889; Townsend, 1901 ). 



This early sampling was primarily exploratory in na- 

 ture. The participating zoologists faced a vast unstud- 

 ied fauna and a multitude of species new to science. 

 Scientists most active in this work were chiefly system- 

 atists; consequently the results were largely taxonomic 

 accounts of various groups. The following are typical 

 examples: Smith, 1879, 1884; Harger,1880, 1883; 

 Rathbun, 1880; Wilson, 1880;Fewkes, 1881;Verrill ,1881, 

 1884; Agassiz, 1883, Webster and Benedict, 1884; Bush, 

 1885; Bigelow, 1891). Professor Addison E. Verrill of 

 Yale College, who collaborated closely with U.S. Fish 

 Commission scientists, was undoubtedly the most pro- 

 ductive systematist of this, or perhaps any era. He de- 

 scribed over one thousand species representing most 

 major invertebrate groups. A very large percentage of 

 these new species descriptions was based on specimens 

 collected off New England. Although several prelimi- 

 nary ecological studies of the offshore benthos were 

 reported (Smith and Harger, 1874; Verrill, 1874a, 1874b; 

 Agassiz 1888a, 1888b) and the reports on systematics of 

 various groups contain ecological information, no com- 

 prehensive ecological reports pertaining to the fauna 

 of this region were published. 



The second milestone in ecological research of the 

 New England marine benthos was a comprehensive 

 report by Summer et al. (1913). This report is based on 

 three years of intensive sampling in Vineyard Sound 

 and Buzzards Bay by the Bureau of Fisheries in 1903, 

 1904, and 1905. This useful publication not only lists 

 the species occurring in the Woods Hole region but 

 includes species distribution charts and discusses some 

 physical conditions (temperature, depth, and sedi- 

 ments) that influence the distribution of animals. To 

 this day, this remains the most thorough ecological 

 study of the New England marine benthos. 



After the investigation by Sumner et al. (1913), there 

 was a 30-year hiatus during which ecological research 

 on New England marine benthos — particularly that con- 

 cerned with offshore invertebrates — proceeded at an 

 exceedingly slow pace. Belding (1914), Allee (1922a, 

 1922b, 1923a, 1923b, 1923c), Pytherch (1929), Stauffer 

 (1937), Avers (1938), and others contributed valuable 

 information on inshore populations. Rather few eco- 

 logically oriented works such as Procter (1933a, 1933b) 

 and Bigelow and Schroeder (1939) pertaining to off- 

 shore zoobenthos appeared during this period. In addi- 

 tion to the foregoing, however, many studies of a taxo- 

 nomic nature containing valuable ecological informa- 

 tion were issued during this time span (Rathbun, 1905, 

 1925; Koehler, 1914; Nutting, 1915; Pilsbrv. 1916; Heath, 



1918; Bartsch, 1922; Deichmann, 1930, 1936; and oth- 

 ers). Ecological interests of marine scientists conduct- 

 ing field studies in this region centered on plankton and 

 fishes. It was not until the 1940's that renewed activities in 

 benthic ecology attained a significant level. Beginning in 

 that decade a number of investigations were undertaken 

 concerning inshore populations (Dexter, 1944, 1947; Lee, 

 1944; Phleger and Walton, 1950; Swan 1952a, 1952b; 

 Parker, 1952; Pratt, 1953; Burbanck et al., 1956; Parker 

 and Athern, 1959; Stickney, 1959; Rhoads, 1963; and oth- 

 ers). Ecological studies pertaining to the offshore popula- 

 tions commenced somewhat later, for example the re- 

 ports by: Parker (1948); Northrup (1951 ); Phleger (1952); 

 Clarke (1954); Schroeder (1955, 1958); Taylor etal. (1957); 

 Wigley ( 1959) ; Wieser (1960) ; Wigley ( 1960b) ; Chamberlin 

 and Stearns (1963); and Wigley and Emery (1968), are 

 notable examples. 



Perhaps the most significant event of this period, 

 relative to the present work, was the inauguration of 

 quantitative benthos investigations of the New England 

 marine fauna (Lee, 1944). Lee's work was a study of the 

 macrobenthic invertebrate fauna of Menemsha Bight, 

 an embayment of Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts. Years 

 later, quantitative studies were made of the benthos of 

 Long Island Sound (Sanders, 1956; Richards and Riley, 

 1967), Buzzards Bay (Sanders, 1958, 1960; Wieser, 1960), 

 Barnstable Harbor (Sanders et. al., 1962), Greenwich 

 Bay, Rhode Island (Stickney and Stringer, 1957), 

 Sheepscot Estuary (Hanks. 1964), Narragansett Bay 

 (Phelps, 1965), Rand's Harbor, Massachusetts 

 (Burbanck et al., 1956), and other locales. In recent 

 years, due to increased interest in potential impacts of 

 man's activities in outer continental shelf (OCS) devel- 

 opment and exploitation and in understanding the 

 dynamics of marine ecosystems, quantitative studies of 

 the benthic fauna in the New England region have 

 undergone a marked increase, as have studies in other 

 associated disciplines. Studies such as Wigley (1961b); 

 Sanders et. al. (1962); Wiglev and Mclntyre (1964); 

 Emery etal. (1965);Nesis (1965); Sanders et al. (1965); 

 Owen et al. (1967); Wigley and Emery (1967); Wigley 

 (1968); Mills (1969); Wigley and Theroux (1970); 

 Haedrich, et al. ( 1975); Rowe et al. ( 1975); Wigley et al. 

 (1975); Uzmann et al. (1977); Pearson and Rosenberg 

 (1978); Maurer and Leathern (1980. 1981a, 1981b); 

 Valentine etal. ( 1980); Magnuson et. al. (1981 ); Wigley 

 and Theroux (1981); Maurer and Wigley ( 1982, 1984); 

 Stehnle (1982); Caracciolo and Steimle (1983); Lear 

 and O'Mallevf 1983) ; Steimle ( 1985); Rowe etal. (1986); 

 Maciolek and Grassle (1987); Michael (1987); Theroux 

 and Grosslein (1987); Langton et al. (1988); Langton 

 and Uzmann ( 1988); Sherman etal. (1988); Langton and 

 Uzmann 1989, Langton et. al. (1990); and Rowe et. al. 

 (1991), and as well as others have provided much needed 

 insights into the complex ecosystems of the region. 



