Distribution and Abundance of Benthic Organisms in the New York Bight Apex, 2-6 August 1973

During the period 2-6 August 1973 a series of benthic grab samples were collected at standard sampling stations located on the New York Bight apex MESA grid. The cruise was designed so that five replicate Smith-McIntyre grab samples could be taken at each station. In addition to the benthic macrofauna, samples were collected for: sediment grain size analyses and sediment heavy metal burdens; benthic meiofaunal studies including the nematodes, harpacticoid copepods and ciliate protozoans; and seabed oxygen consumption rates. The data are listed by latitude and longitude as well as station number and they can therefore provide a seasonal baseline for the distribution and abundance of benthic invertebrates useful for comparison with similar data collected in October 1973, January 1974, March 1974 and August 1974 at the same MESA grid stations.