| Total amount of seston reliably characterizes production performance and food capacity of a water body. Estimates obtained from the quantification of seston in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and the percentage of living organic matter in the integral suspended organic matter are discussed. The measurements have shown that organic carbon content in the seston varies over the year from 35 to 70 g C/m2 in midsea areas of the Black Sea and from 8 to 16 g C/m2 during summer in the Sea of Azov. Collectively, phytoplankton and bacteria contribute to seston only 0.4 – 3.5%, and zooplankton - 3 – 10%. Therefore, the integral organic suspension in the seas is nearly completely (85-95%) owing to detritus and the zooplankton unaccounted by net sampling method. |
