Eastern North Atlantic Ocean, Porcupine Seabight (49° to 54° N, 10° to 16° W).

Zooplankton and zoobenthos morphological parameters; Zoobenthos non taxonomy-related wet weight biomass per unit area of the bed; Zoobenthos taxonomic abundance; Zoobenthos taxonomy-related wet weight biomass per unit area of the bed; Zooplankton and zoobenthos development stage parameters; Zoobenthos generic abundance; Fauna abundance per unit area of the bed

Underwater cameras; pelagic trawl nets; benthos samplers; cameras; unconsolidated sediment corers

An extensive investigation of the benthic biology of the Porcupine Seabight, to the south-west of Ireland, was carried out by biologists from IOS Deacon Laboratory between 1977 and 1989. More than 400 benthic samples were obtained on 24 cruises during the study using towed gears and corers over the depth range 200m to 4500m. Transect and time lapse photography was used extensively. The study concentrated initially on the megafauna, and particularly on quantitative sampling of this size fraction of the benthic community, a difficult problem which seemed to be covered inadequately in other deep sea benthic programmes at that time. This emphasis has been maintained, but the programme has been extended to other size fractions and particularly the meiofauna.

Jackson, P.A.B., Thurston, M.H. and Rice, A.L. (1991) Station data for the IOS Benthic Biological Survey of the Porcupine Seabight region (NE Atlantic) 1977-89., IOS Report No. 281.; Rice, A.L., Billet, D.S.M., Thurston, M.H. and Lampitt, R.S. (1991) The Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Biology Programme in the Porcupine Seabight: Background and General Introduction., J. Mar. Bio. Assoc. U.K. Vol. 71 p281-310

National Oceanography Centre (Southampton)
University of Southampton Waterfront Campus European Way
Southampton
Hampshire
SO14 3ZH
United Kingdom