Diverse and functioning aquatic ecosystems

Finland has not only many water bodies but also many different types of waters. Each one has its typical biocoenosis, which maintains a complicated but well-functioning ecosystem.

The wealth of Finnish water bodies includes springs, brooks, ponds, rivers and lakes, not to mention coastal waters as well as the distinctive fladas and glo lakes of the coast. These surface waters can be further divided into dozens of biotopes characterised by specific features.

For animals and plants, each individual lake or sea bay is like a city of endless opportunities. It offers everyone a suitable living place: a shallow and bright littoral zone, a soft bottom spreading out deeper down, or perhaps a hard and sloping rocky surface. When the water bodies are numbered in tens of thousands, the wealth of opportunities is immense.

Nevertheless, no organism can live without interacting with others. Together the organisms shape their living environment. While they shelter each other, they also compete for living space and prey on each other. The who-eats-whom, or food web, of a water body extends from primary producers like plants and algae all the way to the largest predatory fish.

The strands of the food web also extend outside the aquatic ecosystem; water bodies offer food for many birds and mammals, including us humans. In addition to producing food, water bodies also provide other ecosystem services: they produce oxygen, regulate water resources and provide continuous access to water – and delight humans with their sheer existence.