photic zone. Possibly because of the thermal attributes of the 

 Maine Intermediate Water, some aspects of this biota are similar 

 to that of northern Europe. The significance of such findings 

 may be to contribute to solving long-standing debates over what 

 controls biogeographic differences on opposite coasts of the 

 Atlantic. In sum, the localized site-specific studies being 

 conducted on rock substrata in the central Gulf of Maine may 

 ultimately have much broader implications concerning 

 biogeography , the structure of benthic communities, their energy 

 flow and the impact of vertebrate predators on these 

 communities. 



