Seston (from Ancient Greek: σηστόν, romanized: sēstón, lit. 'that which is sifted') refers to the particles suspended in bodies of water, such as oceans, lakes, and rivers.[1] Small particles of seston may be formed by the breaking down of larger particles amidst the crashing of waves, mixing of water currents, or slow disintegration. The organic constituents of seston include plankton and detritus from decomposing organisms; the inorganic components of seston are of mineral origin, essentially particles of mud suspended in the water column.
Seston is used by many species in their day-to-day activities. Some examples are barnacles, mussels, scallops, corals, sea anemones, sea squirts, and sea cucumbers. Suspension feeders and filter feeders like whales also rely on seston as a food source.[2] Nutrient-rich seston particles can support the local ecosystem by providing nutrition to organisms. The higher the amount of organic matter in the seston, the more nutritious it is for the suspension feeders who count on seston as a food source. Many of these animals have adapted to be able to eat both organic and inorganic seston. Animals that eat seston also have to adapt because the seston is not always present or may have periods of time when it is less nutritious. They adapt by eating more when it is there or by storing it to eat later when it would otherwise be unavailable. Studies of rivers have shown that downstream seston is more nutritious that it is upstream.[citation needed]
While seston is necessary for many animals and in many ecosystems, it can also be harmful in large quantities. Sometimes human activities like fishing and farming that generate nutrient-rich surface runoff can make the presence of organic seston increase dramatically. This sudden increase can destabilize the ecosystem if there are not enough organisms that eat that seston to make up for the increase. As the amount of seston grows, it may undermine the growth of other organisms, a process known as cultural eutrophication. One example of this process Lake Okeechobee in the U.S. state of Florida.[3] Runoff from nearby farming increases the nutrients in the lake and causes the amount of algae to grow. Especially in the more shallow parts of Lake Okeechobee, the algae grows very well because it requires sunlight to carry out the process of photosynthesis to make food for itself. Because parts of Lake Okeechobee are so shallow, there is a high degree of light penetration through the water, which allows more of the algae to receive the sunlight it needs.[4] Because the algae needs a warm and sunny environment, this is especially a problem in warmer climates like that of Florida. Some of the algae bloom is blue-green algae, which is also known as cyanobacteria.[5] It grows very quickly when it has nutrition from nitrogen and phosphorus. The algae bloom decreases water quality and can make people and animals sick. Some symptoms in people include nausea and vomiting, but the worst side effect could be liver failure. Since Lake Okeechobee waters are released to the ocean through canals to the east and west, coastal areas in Florida are affected too. The algae bloom has caused businesses near the ocean to close and hurt tourism revenues in recent years. Florida has even declared a state of emergency in the past because of the algae bloom.[6]
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Transcription
Have you ever wondered how the circle of life operates in the ocean? Where does food come from and how do the organisms that live there use it? The particles that exist in the water column are essentially the building blocks of life for those animals that make their home in the ocean. These particles, both living and non-living, can provide food to the animals that eat them, construction materials out of which some animals make their homes or, they can represent homes to a vast number of micro-organisms that live on their surfaces Collectively, these particles are known as seston. The Particles in the ocean are created through a combination of physical and biological processes. On the physical side, many smaller particles may be created from larger ones through the turbulence caused by the crashing of a wave or by the mixing of water currents as they are forced through narrow passages. Others are produced by the slow disintegration of larger particles over time. On the biological side, particles are created by small plants called phytoplankton as they capture energy from the sun and create more and more through their reproductive acticities. When the particles die either naturally or by being eaten they enter the food chain where the basic feeding, reproductive and dying processes produce even more particles of different sizes. One of the most important functions of particles is that they are the main method for transferring food energy from one organism to another. Whether they are microscopically small or large enough that you could see one on the end of your finger, there are many living things that have adapted to utilize particles. Most seston in the water is made up of a combination of both organic and inorganic components. The inorganic components are from mineral origin and are essentially any small particles of silt or mud that are suspended in the water column. The organic components are from biological origin and can be either living or dead. Live particles may be microbes, larvae, phytoplankton or fungi. The dead components are the remains of other organisms or their digestive waste. Sometimes, many of these components are bundled together with organic glue produced by phytoplankton into structures known as marine snow or flocs. Seston is used by many species in their day-to-day activities. The many organisms that use seston can be extremely varied and beautiful. You may have seen many of these while walking along the shore, at the grocery store or visiting an aquarium. Some examples include: barnacles, mussels, scallops, corals, sea anemones, sea squirts or tunicates, and sea cucumbers. Many different kinds of fish and some of the largest animals on earth, whales feed on relatively small particles in the ocean. Each particle of seston can be a tiny meal. Food energy is tied up in the organic portion of these particles; the higher the organic content, the richer the meal. After all there’s not much nutritional value in sand. When any organism has an abundance of high quality food, there are much fewer restrictions to growth and reproduction. As a result, an abundance of rich particles can promote high species densities which can contribute significantly to the local ecosystem. But you can have to much of a good thing! When humans influence the aquatic environment with their activities such as fishing, farming, land inputs and energy development; particle concentrations may increase dramatically. If the local habitat cannot support enough organisms to consume this large influx or organic particles, then the local ecosystem can become destabilized and impacted. Particulates can then accumulate and create conditions that are physically and chemically unattractive to many of the natural organisms that would normally live there. One solution to dealing with any excess food production has already been invented by Mother Nature with the creation of food webs for the recycling of this energy. Understanding how to create these situations is the goal of ecological engineering. Seston is one of the foundations for all life in the marine environment and its existence is critical to the healthy operations of ecosystems. By understanding the role of seston in natural food production, we can learn how to imitate natural ecosystems and to foster more sustainable food production for humans
See also
References
- ^ Robinson, Shawn (29 July 2010). Robertson, Paul (ed.). "Seston - The Particles In The Water" (video). YouTube. IMTA Canada. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ Huguet, Carme (2017), Rossi, Sergio; Bramanti, Lorenzo; Gori, Andrea; Orejas, Covadonga (eds.), "Seston Quality and Available Food: Importance in the Benthic Biogeochemical Cycles", Marine Animal Forests: The Ecology of Benthic Biodiversity Hotspots, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 733–759, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-21012-4_22, ISBN 978-3-319-21012-4, retrieved 2021-04-21
- ^ "Bloom in Lake Okeechobee". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 2016-07-06. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ^ Krimsky, Lisa S.; Phlips, Edward J.; Havens, Karl (16 February 2022) [Originally published August 2018 in EDIS vol 2018 no 4]. "A Response to Frequently Asked Questions about the 2018 Algae Blooms in Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee, and St. Lucie Estuaries". edis.ifas.ufl.edu. Publication #ED-2. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ Miller, Kimberly (16 July 2020). "Corps warns of Lake Okeechobee algae bloom". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ Ballard, Victoria (9 July 2018). "Gov. Scott declares state of emergency over algae bloom". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
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