Distribution of deep-sea meiobenthos in surface sediments off North Carolina

Observations on the ecology and distribution of meiofauna occurring on the outer continental shelf and continental slope at depths from 50 to 2500 m in the region where the Blake Plateau cuts across the North Carolina slope are reported. Total numbers of meiofauna ranged from 151/100 cm**3 of sediment at 400 m to 1196/100 cm**3 of sediment at 250 m. Sediments of the upper region (50–500 m) consisted of medium-sized calcareous sands with relatively low organic carbon contents, while the deeper sediments (600–2500 m) consisted of sandy silts and silts with organic carbon contents 6–10 times that of the shallower sediments. […]