The Macrobenthos of Penobscot Bay, Maine

The soft bottom macrobenthic communities of Penobscot Bay, Maine were sampled in June and July 1982 in order to provide an environmental benchmark. Forty-nine subtidal stations were occupied using a 0.1 m2 Smith-McIntyre grab. Depths ranged from 9 to 126 m. Subsamples were taken for grain size, CHN, trace metal and hydrocarbon analyses. The samples were sieved on a 1.0 mm screen and the fauna removed and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. The results yielded 226 putative species. Density ranged from 80 to 18,430/m2 with a mean of 3,475/m2.