Assemblages of necrophagous animals off Enderby Land, East Antarctica

A hyperbenthic baited trap was deployed at three sites in Lutzow-Holm Bay a nd off Enderby Land, Antarctica, in the 1993/1994 summer to investigate the species composition, distribution. and abundance of necrophagous animals. The trap consisted of four chambers. with a length of 100 cm and a diameter of 38 cm. The sample at the abyssal site, 3,186 m deep. contained 74 indiv iduals of 6 species, completely different from that at the other 2 sites on the continental shelf. it was dominated by the large amphipod Eurythenes g ryllus, a cosmopolitan species recorded from bathyal to abyssal depths. The species composition of the continental shelf sites. 93-137 individuals of 10-12 species, was dominated by species endemic to Antarctica. such as the small amphipod Pseudorchomene coatsi and the isopod Natatolana meridionalis : in these continental shelf sites. a high degree of species diversity was observed.