Sampling and Analytical Methodology:
Animal samples were collected using a variety of baited traps. Sediment samples were collected using megacores on a free vehicle lander. Rock samples were collected using a van veen style grab on a free vehicle lander. Water samples were collected using a conventional CTD rosette.

Investigator abbreviations are given below. These pertain to the fate of specimens and subsamples of tissues.

INITIAL	NAME	INSTITUTION
AJ	ALAN JAMIESON	UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
CY	CRAIG YOUNG	OREGON STATE
DM	DAN MAYOR	UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
JD	JEFF DRAZEN	UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
MG	MACKENZIE GERRINGER	UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
PY	PAUL YANCEY	WHITMAN COLLEGE
SP	STUART PIERTNEY	UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
TL	THOMAS LINLEY	UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
TS	TIM SHANK	WHOI
AD	AMANDA DEMOPOULOS	USGS
EG	ELEANNA GRAMMOPOULOS	UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN

Instrument Key
CR   CORE RESPIROMETER
CTD   CTD
LA   ABYSSAL LANDER
LH   HADAL LANDER
RG   ROCK GRAB
TR   FISH TRAP
W   WATER - SURFACE BUCKET
WT   WEE TRAP
WT   WEE TRAP

CORING RESPIROMETER – A free vehicle lander equipped with 4 megacore tubes that are pushed into the sediments by a drive motor after the vehicle lands on the seafloor. Each tube is equipped with an oxygen optode and water mixing pump to measure sediment community oxygen consumption in each core. Each core is trapped by a standard megacore core catching device and returned to the surface with the lander. The instrument also includes an oxygen sensor for the ambient bottom water.

CTD – Conventional CTD rosette was used to take water samples to 5000m depth at several stations.

ABYSSAL LANDER – A free vehicle lander equipped with a still image camera and baited to attract scavengers. Images were taken once every minute. It is rated to 6000m.

HADAL LANDER – A free vehicle lander equipped with a digital video camera and baited to attract scavengers. One minute of video was recorded every 2.5 or every 5 minutes. It is rated to 11000m.

FISH TRAP – A large mesh trap with two smaller PVC tube shaped amphipod traps inside that were baited to capture megafauna. It was deployed as a free vehicle lander.

WEE TRAP – Another baited trap but smaller in size than the fish trap.