Report on the Invertebrate Megafauna Sampled by Trawling in the Atlantic 3800 Meter Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site

摘要

Four otter trawls were carried out in 1978 near the Atlantic deepsea low-level radioactive waste dumpsite located at a depth of 3800 meters, approximately 320 kilometers offshore, centered at 37 degrees 50'N, 70 degrees 35'W, and situated in the axis of the Hudson Canyon Channel. The megafauna collected in the vicinity of the dumpsite can be described as an ophiuroid-pagurid (brittle starfish-hermit crab) dominated, soft-bottom abyssal assemblage. The life histories of the predominant large invertebrates is presented and discussed. The report makes particular note of the need to differentiate between natural spatial variation of organisms and spatial variations resulting from man's activities, when designing dumpsite-related biological monitoring programs.