A-10, 



photic zone is sketchy at best. This is compounded by the 

 fact that the charactieristics separating closely related 

 species are frequently too fine to be discernable on a 

 photograph. Additionally, the problem of species recogni- 

 tion is further hampered in many coelenterates , because as 

 a result of contraction dried or fixed specimens frequently 

 look very different in life. Within these constraints 

 every effort was made to make as precise an identification 

 as possible. Identification was aided by compiling infor- 

 mation on the distribution and known depth ranges of the 

 various species found within the study area. The compila- 

 tion of this information was greatly aided by R. Haedrich 

 and G. T. Rowe making their data on trawl collections 

 available. Additionally, consultation with P. Polloni 

 (W. H.O.I.) and various specialists in invertebrate 

 taxonomy, particularly, F. Bayer, S. Cairns, M. Downey and 

 D. Pawson, was very helpful. Hand held photographs taken 

 by observers during dives were also very useful, because 

 they frequently afforded good closeups of some of the major 

 faunal constituents. 



A major disadvantage of using submersible photographs 

 to assess epibenthic faunal abundances is that biases may be 

 created by the mere presence of the vehicle and its lights. 

 For instance it has been noted that some fish are attracted 

 to the disturbance created by the submersible, possibly to 

 feed on the infauna exposed by the vehicles displacement of 



