Using a combination of data obtained from high-definition still images, video, and specimens collected during human-occupied submersible and remotely-operated vehicle dives spanning the period 2003 to 2014, we provide the first detailed characterization of the megabenthic assemblages in the lower bathyal on the New England and Corner Rise Seamounts in the Northwest Atlantic. Over all, the New England Seamounts east from Retriever to Nashville have a more diverse megabenthic fauna than Corner Rise, but the lowest diversity was observed on the three seamounts located closest to the continental margin. The megabenthic assemblage structure varies both within and across seamounts, and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed groups dependent on location (as measured by longitude) and depth, with substrate composition an additional but less significant factor at the regional scale. We conclude that the megabenthos assemblages in the bathyal Northwest Atlantic are determined, at the regional scale, by the water masses in which they reside.

结合从2003年至2014年期间在人类潜水和遥控潜水过程中采集的高清静止图像，视频和标本所获得的数据的组合，我们首次提供了对海底深部大型底栖动物组合的详细表征在新英格兰和西北大西洋的角上升海山上。总的来说，从猎犬到纳什维尔以东的新英格兰海山具有比角上升更多样化的大型底栖动物，但是在最靠近大陆边缘的三个海山上观察到的多样性最低。海底内和跨海底的大型底栖动物组合结构各不相同，并且层次聚类分析揭示了取决于位置（按经度测量）和深度的组，在区域规模上，底物成分是一个附加但不重要的因素。我们得出的结论是，在西北大西洋深海中的大型底栖动物组合在区域范围内由它们所居住的水团决定。