Comparative Analysis of Efficiency of Meiobenthos Sampling Gears at Different Depths

The results of counting meiofauna in samples taken by different gear types (grabs, box and tube corers, and SCUBA hand corers) are compared. The published data (on 1412 stations) and our own survey data (ten stations at depths of 38–260 m in the White Sea) are analyzed. Meiofauna abundance exponentially decreases with depth. No significant gear-related differences in total abundance and taxa composition are found at shallow depths (to 50–100 m). Deeper, the meiofauna abundance in grab-collected samples is underestimated almost tenfold, whereas tube corers are the most efficient.