CONTENTS 



Introduction 1 



Materials and methods 2 



Field and laboratory 2 



Analysis 2 



Environmental setting 2 



Physiography 2 



Sediment composition 2 



Physical oceanography 4 



Circulation 4 



Bottom temperature 4 



Results 5 



Fauna! composition 5 



Total faunal biomass and density 5 



Polychaetous annelids 6 



Mollusca 6 



Scaphopoda 6 



Gastropoda 6 



Pelecypoda 8 



Crustacea 8 



Decapoda 8 



Cumacea 8 



Isopoda 8 



Amphipoda 8 



Echinodermata 8 



Ophiuroidea 8 



Holothuroidea 8 



Echinoidea 9 



Asteroidea 9 



Mud patch fauna 9 



Discussion 9 



Ecological relationships 9 



Depth 9 



Temperature 9 



Sediment and related environmental variables 10 



Faunal assemblage 11 



Acknowledgments 12 



Literature cited 12 



Appendix 14 



Figures 



1 . Location of bottom-sampling stations for fauna and sediment off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., June 1962 3 



2. Bottom-sediment types off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., from samples collected at stations, June 1962 3 



3. Bottom temperature off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., from measurements taken at stations, June 1962 4 



4. Quantitative distribution of biomass for all macrobenthic invertebrates combined off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., from 

 samples collected at stations, June 1962 5 



5. Quantitative distribution of individuals for all macrobenthic invertebrates combined off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., 



from samples collected at stations, June 1962 6 



6. Summary of average biomass and number of individuals of major taxa in relation to depth, temperature, median sedi- 

 ment size, and silt-clay, off Martha's Vineyard, Mass., from samples collected June 1962 7 



Table 



Comparison of wet weight biomass of macrobenthos in terms of bathymetric stratum of the U.S. northeastern Atlantic 1 1 



