Invertebrate communities associated with hard bottom habitats in the South Atlantic Bight

Epibenthic invertebrates associated with nine hard bottom areas in the South Atlantic Bight between South Carolina and northern Florida were collected with dredge, trawl, suction and grab samplers to evaluate species composition, biomass, abundance, diversity, spatial distributions, and seasonality (winter and summer). Species composition changed noticeably with depth and season. Inner and outer shelf stations were least similar in species composition. Middle shelf areas were transitional and contained taxa characteristic of both inner and outer sites. Bryozoa (88 taxa), Cnidaria (85 taxa), Porifera (67 taxa), Annelida (261 taxa) and Mollusca (203 taxa) represented the richest taxonomic groups of the 1175 taxa collected. Both diversity (1175 total taxa) and biomass (1995 kg total) of invertebrates from hard bottom areas exceeded those reported in the literature for sand bottom communities. Sponges accounted for >60% of the total invertebrate biomass collected by dredge and trawl during both seasons. High diversity values were attributed primarily to habitat complexity and did not exhibit any discernible pattern with depth or latitude.