41. 



some of the biases created by unequal coverage of the respec- 

 tive depth zones. However, this method does not alleviate the 

 bias caused by patchy distribution. Thus, care should be 

 taken in assessing the universality of the dominance of various 

 taxa within a particular depth zone. 



Table IV lists the common epifauna observed in Baltimore 

 Canyon by depth zone. A large white anemone, found on boulder 

 deposits in one area of the west wall (150-300 m) , dominates 

 the shallow-water assemblage. Even though comparable depth 

 coverage was obtained, throughout this canyon, the anemone 

 was not seen in any of the other areas. This illustrates the 

 problems caused by the patchy distribution of many of the faunal 

 constituents, since the white anemone accounts for 31% of the 

 total shallow zone fauna but was restricted to only one area. 

 Several of the other common fauna observed in this depth zone 

 are similar to those found by Haedrich, Rowe and Polloni (1975) , 

 namely Munida valida and Cancer borealis. Conspicuously 

 missing from their shallow depth samples are the large burrow- 

 ing anemone Cer-ianthus borealis and the unidentified fluffy 

 white sea pen. Possible reasons for this discrepancy could 

 be that a trawl does not adequately sample burrowing organisms 

 and the white sea pen has a rather patchy distribution. Of 

 the fauna dominating the middle depth zone five of the most 

 common taxa observed in Baltimore Canyon are the same as those 

 found by Haedrich, Rowe and Polloni (197 5) . These are the 



