Distribution, Abundance and Diversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrates on the Canadian Continental Shelf and Slope of Southern Davis Strait and Ungava Bay

Abstract

Stations in a survey of benthic invertebrates on the Canadian continental shelf and slope of southeastern Baffin Island, in Ungava Bay, and on the northern Labrador Shelf, fell into definite groups as a result of an objective analysis of similarity in species composition. The groupings were shown to correspond to major water masses in the area. Groups corresponding to cold surface water masses, to the deep Irminger Atlantic water mass, and to mixtures of these with adjacent water masses were observed. The Irminger Atlantic group dominated on the Baffin Island continental shelf. Species diversity, also measured in the study, was high, with large numbers of species present in low abundance. Key words: marine, benthos, invertebrates, distribution, shelf, slope, Davis Strait, Ungava Bay, subartic