Embudo, Helen Gail P.

BSBIO2A

Activity 02
Bio 140 (Laboratory)

Observing Biotic and Abiotic Factors of an Ecosystem and Identifying Interactions of

Organisms

Introduction

The “bio” in biotic means “life” while the “a” in abiotic means “without.” This means
abiotic factors are the nonliving things in our ecosystem. Ecosystems are special because they
are the first level of organization in ecology to have both abiotic and biotic factors.

In ecology, the levels begin with organisms, populations, communities, and the
ecosystem. Abiotic and biotic factors work together to keep ecosystems stable or balanced.
Biotic organisms, such as animals, plants, and humans, rely on the abiotic factors within their
environment to survive. For example, plants rely on the abiotic factor sunlight to produce
glucose (a simple sugar) as food through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis only
occurs inside plant cells or alike organisms; this process was briefly mentioned in the previous
lesson of animal and plant cells.

Without these abiotic factors like the sun, ecosystems would not be stable and could
collapse. Think of it as a domino effect; if one-piece falls (the abiotic factor), the rest of the
dominos will fall too (the ecosystem). Another example would be a drought, which results in very
little to no rain. In a rainforest ecosystem, the drought not only impacts the water source for this
ecosystem, but it also impacts habitat availability for the rainforest species. Droughts can result
in a reduction of habitats for rainforest animals. So, we can see that the sun and water are not
living but are very important. Abiotic and biotic factors work together to keep an ecosystem
balanced.
Field Activity

1. Ecosystem Scavenger Hunt

Ecosystems are areas where living things interact with nonliving things. Observe an
Ecosystem near your area. Identify biotic factors and abiotic factors, record your
observation in a table. List as many factors as you can.

Type of Ecosystem: Terrestrial Ecosystem

Abiotic Biotic
Sunlight Flowering Plants
Soil Vegetables
Rocks Trees
Wind/Air Bamboo
Living Space Short and Tall Grasses
Clouds Birds
Temperature Bees
Grasshoppers
Butterflies
Bugs
Frogs
Ants
Flies
Dogs
Cows
Water Buffalo
Goat

2. Identifying Ecological Relationships

Ecological relationships describe the interactions between and among organisms within
their environment. These interactions may have positive, negative or neutral effects on
either species' ability to survive and reproduce, or "fitness." By classifying these effects,
ecologists have derived five major types of species interactions: predation, competition,
mutualism, commensalism and amensalism.
Identify relationships between your Abiotic and Biotic Factors. List down your answers in
a tabulated form indicating the factor and the relationship.

Abiotic-Biotic Relationship
 Sunlight – Producers (Grasses,  Sunlight provides the necessary solar
Trees, Vegetables, Plants, energy for the photosynthetic or food -
Bamboo) making process of the producers in the
ecosystem
 Sunlight – Consumers (Birds,  Sunlight impact the consumers directly
Bees, Grasshoppers, Frogs, (e.g. perceived temperature) and
Cow, Water Buffalo, Goat) indirectly through the producers (amount
of available food)
 Soil – Producers (Grasses, Trees,
Vegetables, Plants, Bamboo)
 Soil – Consumers (Birds, Bees,
Grasshoppers, Frogs, Cow,
Water Buffalo, Goat)
 Wind/Air – Producers (Grasses,
Trees, Vegetables, Plants,
Bamboo)
 Wind/Air – Consumers (Birds,
Bees, Grasshoppers, Frogs,
Cow, Water Buffalo, Goat)
 Clouds – Producers (Grasses,
Trees, Vegetables, Plants,
Bamboo)
 Clouds – Consumers (Birds,
Bees, Grasshoppers, Frogs,
Cow, Water Buffalo, Goat)
 Living Space – Producers
(Grasses, Trees, Vegetables,
Plants, Bamboo)
 Living Space – Consumers
(Birds, Bees, Grasshoppers,
Frogs, Cow, Water Buffalo,
Goat)
 The quality of soil, more specifically, the
soil structure, nutrient content and pH
level affects the growth processes of the
producers in the ecosystem.
 Consumers are hugely dependent on the
producers (plants), thus, if the nutrient
content of the soil or soil characteristics
are insufficient to support the producer, it
will affect the organisms in the higher
levels of food chain or food web
 Wind or air is one of the determining
factors of the transpiration rate of the
producers or plants and since
transpiration of plants is one of the
factors that contributes to the rate of
precipitation, the amount of available
water for the producers is also affected.
 Organisms in the higher levels of food
chain/ web are affected by the quality/
characteristic of wind/air directly (the
amount of O2) and indirectly by rate of
precipitation. Wind/ air also affects the
perceived temperature of animals and
the speed of desiccation/ drying out rate
of animals or plants.
 The amount or characteristic of clouds
within the ecosystem influence the
producers by determining the
precipitation rate and the amount of
sunlight available for organisms.
 Similarly, consumers are affected by the
characteristics and amount of cloud by
determining the amount of available food
available for them (producers), the
amount of available water and sunlight.
 Living Space is another extremely
important factor which determines the
growth and abundance of producers
within the ecosystem. If the living space
for plants is limited, for instance, in my
chosen ecosystem where the parameter
of the place is surrounded by walls, the
growth and number of plant species will
also be limited, affecting their
abundance.
 Similarly, the amount of living space for
consumers is also a determining factor
for their abundance and growth like in the
case of the frog species present within
the ecosystem
 Temperature – Producers  Temperature has a major effect on organisms in
(Grasses, Trees, terms of the various cellular or enzymatic reactions
Vegetables, Plants, within the producers/ plants body. Additionally, the
Bamboo) temperature of both water and air can limit the
distribution and abundance of living things
 Temperature – Consumers  Temperature exerts an important influence on
(Birds, Bees, consumers by way of how they perceive it and the
Grasshoppers, Frogs, Cow, various reactions in their body. If the
Water Buffalo, Goat) animals/consumers in the ecosystem are faced
with temperature fluctuations, they may respond
with adaptations, such as migration, in order to
survive
 Biotic – Biotic
 Grasses – Herbivore (Cows,
Water Buffalo, Goats)
 Bees – Flowering plants
 Butterflies – Flowering plants
 Frogs – Insects
(Grasshoppers, Bugs and
Flies)
 Birds – Trees
 Cows- Water Buffalo- Goats
 Vegetables – Grasses –
Flowering Plants
 Bugs - Vegetables
Relationship
 Herbivory – Cows, Water buffalo, goats and
the like utilize plants to supply their body with
energy. Herbivory is a special type of
relationship between lifeforms which directly
consumes the primary producers to meet their
energy requirements.
 Mutualism – Both the bees and flowering
plants benefit from each other. Flowering plants
serve as a food resource for the bees while the
bees aid in the propagation of plant species
through seed dispersal
 Mutualism – Butterflies and the flowering
plants both benefit from each other. Flowering
plants serve as a food resource for the bees
while the bees aid in the propagation of plant
species through seed dispersal
 Predation – frogs supply itself with energy by
consuming other living organisms such as
insects. In this case, one lifeform is killed and
consumed for the benefit of other lifeforms.
 Commensalism – Birds use the trees as their
shelter and in building their nests without
harming the trees.
 Mutualism – trees provide birds with shelter
while the birds propagate the species of tree by
consuming their fruits and dispersing their
seeds.
 Competition – Cows, water buffalo and goats
all have the same needs for a specific limiting
resource, the grasses of plants which are their
food. Therefore, these lifeforms compete to
meet their basic needs such as their food.
 Competition – Grasses and vegetables or
plants that grow near each other utilize the
same requirements in soil and thus, competing
for a limited living space
 Amensalism – Bugs benefits from the
nutrients/ food they get from the vegetables
while the vegetables are harmed/ gradually
being killed.

3. Identifying Limiting factors

Identify Limiting Factors in your ecosystem. Describe how these limiting factors
maintain the balance in your ecosystem. Cite examples on these.

1. Amount of available sunlight

 The sun, being the ultimate source of energy of all living components regardless
of their functional roles in the ecosystem, has a huge impact on their existence,
overall growth, survival and reproduction. The one-way flow of high-quality energy
from the sun, through the living things in their feeding interactions and into the
environment as a low-quality energy in the form heat sustain and maintain the
balance of the ecosystem. Hence, the lack of sunlight or solar radiation significantly
impacts not just the photosynthesizing components of the ecosystem but all the
components that directly and indirectly use sunlight for survival.
 For example, in my chosen ecosystem, a specific species of plant that grow
under the tall trees and thick grasses is noticeably withered and deteriorating as
opposed to the plants of the same species distributed in areas exposed to sunlight.
This signifies that the plant species on the dark area would not the only one to be
entirely affected by the lack of sunlight but also those other organisms that depend
on it for food or resource. Going further, other organisms that depend on the plant-
eating animals in the ecosystem would experience some change in the availability
of their food source. From this, a small change in the requirement of the producers
causes a huge change in the feeding relationship of the entire organisms in the
ecosystem simply because organisms are interdependent to one another.

2. Space/Living space
Space or living space is an essential component in determining the number of
organisms that can inhabit in an ecosystem and an important factor in considering the
density of the population of organisms. The basic reason that space gives the
organisms a place to live is the same reason that can be used to explain why space
can be a limiting factor in the ecosystem and why it maintains the balance in an
ecosystem. Lack of space means lack of habitat which means no place for the
organisms, limiting their growth and number and other organisms that depend on them.
To demonstrate, the concrete road and walls built at the perimeter of my chosen
ecosystem functions as the primary limiting growth of the plant specifically the species
of grasses in the ecosystem because it restricts the plants to further occupy space. The
concrete road and walls can serve as a protection of the ecosystem against deleterious
human activities, but it also impacts the ecosystem in a negative way in terms of the
growth of a population of organisms. If the growth of one living component in an
ecosystem is restricted because of this physical barrier, it would alter the feeding
interactions and ecological processes within the ecosystem, affecting all organisms.

3. Temperature
 Biochemical processes of most organisms function effectively within a narrow
range of temperature. Temperature varies due to seasons, altitude, and location.
For this, temperature impacts the balance of an ecosystem because it is a
determining factor in the distribution of organisms. Temperature variations influence
the distribution of organisms especially in terrestrial environments. Thus, living
organisms must develop necessary adaptations to cope with extreme temperature.
For instance, my chosen ecosystem is able to support the existence and growth
of the organisms inhabiting in it because the populations of organisms are adapted
to the environmental conditions of the ecosystem like the temperature. All species
in my chosen the ecosystem are tropical species because the species are adapted
to tropical environment. Hence, the distribution of species and ecosystem is
dependent on the place’s location on the globe and to the temperature.

4. Soil Composition
 Inorganic nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, are important in
determining the distribution and abundance of living things. Plant obtain these
inorganic nutrients in the soil when water moves into the plants through the roots.
Therefore, soil structure (particle size), soil pH, and soil nutrient content together all
play an important role in balancing an ecosystem.
For example, the type or species of plants and its’ distribution in my chosen
ecosystem depends on the type of soil the ecosystem has. The soil in the
ecosystem is particularly loam, supporting diverse plant species and the
abundance of organisms. The grasses more specifically, function as the primary
producer in my chosen ecosystem and so, if the quality of soil cannot support these
species of organisms, then the distribution and abundance of the animals and other
living things (goats, cows, grasshoppers, water buffalo, etc.) dependent on grasses
 and other organisms will be affected. Hence, soil composition, quality, structure, pH
level, and nutrient content is essential in maintaining the balance in the ecosystem.

5. Competition for resources

 Interspecific interactions link the species in an ecosystem, maintaining the
interdependence of organisms and the balance of the ecosystem. Interspecific
interaction occurs when species compete for a specific limiting resource and
introduces the concept of competitive exclusion and resource partitioning.
Competition for resources act as a limiting factor in an ecosystem simply because
resources within the natural system are limited considering that it takes time to
replenish these resources. Organisms utilizing the same needs for the same
limiting resources cannot co-exist indefinitely at the same place. With this,
competition within the ecosystem is necessary.
In my chosen ecosystem, for example, the goats, cows, and water buffalo have
the same needs in terms of food sources. The tendency of these animals is to
compete for same resource and the competition can be observe more specifically
when the resource is already not sufficient to support the animals depending on it.
With this, competition together with the limited supply of resource act as limiting
factors in the ecosystem. Competition, however, is necessary to maintain the
balance within the natural system as it keeps the feeding interactions and
ecological processes balanced. It keeps the continuous flow of energy and matter
cycling within the ecosystem, thus, maintaining the overall balance of the
ecosystem.

6. Water
 The amount of available water specifically, the precipitation rate in an ecosystem
determines the abundance, the interaction of organisms, energy flow and matter
cycling, and the overall condition of the ecosystem. Water is an extremely crucial
component in an ecosystem because it is critical in cellular processes. If the
amount of available water is lacking and the precipitation rate, it would impact the
very existence, growth, reproduction, and abundance of the interacting organisms
in an ecosystem; hence, water and precipitation are considered as a limiting factor
and are essential in maintaining the balance of ecosystem.
For example, it can be noticed in my chosen ecosystem that there is a healthy
interaction between organisms because the amount of water available for the
organisms more specifically, for plants is not lacking since the place/ our place is
often visited by enough rainfall. With this, the producers are able acquire enough
water from the soil which is extremely important in their growth processes and thus,
supporting other organisms in the higher levels of food chain/ food web within the
ecosystem.