and hydrography of Casco Bay, respectively. To date, the most 

 comprehensive faunal records are from the early surveys of Verrill 

 (1874) and Kingsley (1901). Few quantitative studies of the 

 shallow-water marine benthic communities in the boreal zone of the 

 eastern United States exist (Dexter, 1944, 1947; Hanks, 1964; Shorey, 

 1973; Bilyard, 1974; Larsen, 1979), and none consider the Casco Bay 

 region. 



In April 1980, we undertook a broad scale benthic survey of Casco 

 Bay for the purpose of establishing an environmental benchmark against 

 which subsequent natural and man-induced fluctuations could be measured. 

 Due to the complex topography, hydrography and anthropogenic inputs, 

 great care was taken to insure that all possible variations in the soft 

 bottom habitat were included. Based on the results of this survey, a 

 long-term monitoring program of selected stations was instituted, and 

 the results of this effort will be presented in forthcoming documents. 

 This present report summarizes the physical and biological data from the 

 1980 broadscale survey. 



METHODS 



The basic sampling design involves four transects along the long 

 axis of Casco Bay with additional stations placed in areas of interest, 

 such as the major sounds between the islands and near potential point 

 sources of pollution. Station density is highest near Portland where 

 steep environmental gradients might be expected due to freshwater inflow 

 and more concentrated development. Station locations are presented in 

 Fig. 4. 



