ABIOTIC FACTORS

DR. VICTORIA M. RUGUIAN

CAS-PHYSICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

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ABIOTIC FACTORS are
the non-living parts of the
environment that can
often have a major
influence on living
organisms.

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ABIOTIC FACTORS

Abiotic factors allies are on surrounding conditions such as

surface roughness, topography, hydrophobicity, pH, salinity,
temperature, and presence of oxygen (Nauendorf et al., 2016).

From: Bioremediation of Pollutants, 2020

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ABIOTIC FACTORS found in aquatic systems may be
things like water depth, pH, sunlight, turbidity (amount
of water cloudiness), salinity (salt concentration),
available nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, etc.), and
dissolved oxygen (amount of oxygen dissolved in the
water).
ABIOTIC VARIABLES found in terrestrial ecosystems
can include things like rain, wind, temperature,
altitude, soil, pollution, nutrients, pH, types of soil, and
sunlight.
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A special type of ABIOTIC FACTOR is the limiting Factor.
Ex. Food, shelter water, sunlight, space
 Limit the size of the population.
 Change animal and plant populations .
 Organisms tend to compete for their limited
availability in the ecosystem.

Other limiting factors, like competition for resources,

predation and disease can also impact populations.

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WHY water is a limiting factor in the ecosystem?
WATER act as a limiting factor in ecosystems as all plants
does not have adaptations to survive in arid climates and
desert biomes.
In temperate grasslands, floods caused by heavy rains
scorched conditions in high summers due to lack of water
or ice formation in winter all contribute to the grassland
ecosystem

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For this activity, identify whether the highlighted word in each of the given scenario is
an abiotic or biotic factor. For scenarios that are abiotic, specify whether they are also limiting factors.
Write your answers in the blank space provided.

_______________ 1. Animals drink in a river that has tested positive for heavy metal arsenic residues.
_______________ 2. A typical rainforest is subject to heavy rainfall with about 100 inches of rain every year.
_______________ 3. Desert horned lizards eat ants, crickets, and some plant material as part of their diet.
_______________ 4. Some corals in a marine sanctuary have started bleaching due to significant changes in
temperature.
_______________ 5. Numerous bushes were set aflame by farmers for cultivation purposes.
_______________ 6. Coral reefs provide habitat, spawning, and nursery grounds for important fish species.
_______________ 7. Severe African droughts have caused thousands of deaths due to the lack of water and
food.
_______________ 8. Rodents feed on earthworms and insect larvae that reside in the fallen leaves of an oak
tree.
_______________ 9. Carbon dioxide is used by plants together with energy from the Sun to make food.
_______________ 10. A strong typhoon that carries damaging winds and intense rainfall is about to make
landfall.

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LIGHT, electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human
eye. c= 3 x 10 8 m/s, wavelength = 400–700 nm

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CHLOROPHYLL, the green pigment common to all
photosynthetic cells, absorbs all wavelengths of
visible light except green, which it reflects. This is
why plants appear green to us. Black pigments absorb
all wavelengths of visible light that strike them. White
pigments reflect most of the wavelengths striking them.

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 TEMPERATURE
measure of hotness or
coldness direction in
which heat energy will
spontaneously flow from a
hotter body (one at a higher
temperature) to a colder
body (one at a lower
temperature).

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 TEMPERATURE FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS
At medium temperatures, between 50 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit, or
10 and 20 degrees Celsius, the photosynthetic enzymes work at their
optimum levels, so photosynthesis rates gauge high. Depending on the
particular plant in question, set the greenhouse thermostat to a
temperature within this range for best results.

Colder weather can decrease plant enzyme activity. This

then disrupts plant nutrient intake because plants secrete
enzymes to digest surrounding materials for soil. This can
stunt growth or more severely cause them to die.

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 TEMPERATURE FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS
At medium temperatures, between 50 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit, or
10 and 20 degrees Celsius, the photosynthetic enzymes work at their
optimum levels, so photosynthesis rates gauge high. Depending on the
particular plant in question, set the greenhouse thermostat to a
temperature within this range for best results.

Colder weather can decrease plant enzyme activity. This

then disrupts plant nutrient intake because plants secrete
enzymes to digest surrounding materials for soil. This can
stunt growth or more severely cause them to die.

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Absolute humidity is the mass of water vapor divided by the mass of
dry air in a volume of air at a given temperature. The hotter the air is, the
more water it can contain. Absolute humidity is expressed as grams of
moisture per cubic meter of air (g/m3).
Relative humidity is the ratio of the current absolute humidity to the
highest possible absolute humidity (which depends on the current air
temperature).
R.H. = 100 % means that the air is totally saturated with water vapor and
cannot hold any more, creating the possibility of rain. This doesn't mean
that the relative humidity must be 100 percent in order for it to rain

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Most animals do well at 40
to 60% relative humidity,
but not less than 35% or
greater than 70%. The
relative humidity should be
kept consistent (± 5%).

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WATER
1. a transparent, odorless, tasteless
liquid, a compound of hydrogen
and oxygen, H2O, freezing at 32°F
or 0°C and boiling at 212°F or
100°C, that in a more or less
impure state constitutes rain,
oceans, lakes, rivers
2. it contains 11.188 % hydrogen
and 88.812 % oxygen, by weight.

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 FUNCTIONS

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Water quality parameters
1. chemical
2. physical
3. biological properties

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CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
1. pH
2. Total Dissolved Solids(TDS)
3. Major ions
4. Minor or trace elements
5. Hardness
6. Salinity
7. Alkalinity

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CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
pH is a measure of how acidic/basic water.
is the amount of the relative amount of free H and
hydroxyl in the water.
pH Range = 0 to 14
pH = 7 neutral, less than 7 is acidity and greater than 7 is
base.
pH =is the amount of the relative amount of free H and
hydroxyl in the water.

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TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS is
a measure of the dissolved
combined content of all
inorganic and organic
substances present in a liquid in
molecular, ionized, or micro-
granular suspended form.
Unit: parts per million.
Instrument: a digital meter.

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TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS

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 MAJOR IONS IN WATER
1. cations : calcium (Ca),
magnesium (Mg), sodium
(Na), and potassium (K)
2. anions : bicarbonate (HCO3),
chloride (Cl), and sulfate (SO4)

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 MINOR OR TRACE ELEMENTS
MAJOR MINERALS are: calcium,
phosphorus, potassium, sulfur,
sodium, chlorine, and magnesium.
TRACE MINERALS include: iron,
cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese,
molybdenum, iodine, bromine, and
selenium.
These three elements in the ocean —
Fe, Hg and Ra as nutrients,
contaminants and tracers.
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 MINOR OR TRACE ELEMENTS

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WATER HARDNESS is the total calcium and
magnesium ion concentration in a water sample and
is expressed as the concentration of calcium carbonate.

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The term "salinity" refers to the concentrations of salts in
water or soils. Salinity can take three forms, classified by their
causes: primary salinity (also called natural salinity)
;secondary salinity (also called dryland salinity), and tertiary
salinity (also called irrigation salinity).

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 ALKALINITY refers to the measure of the capacity of the
water to neutralize the acids. It can measure the bicarbonate,
carbon dioxide, hydroxide ions, and carbonate naturally
present in the water.
The pH level of the water at normal drinking level,
carbonate, and bicarbonate are the main contributors to its
alkalinity.

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BENEFITS
1. Anti-aging
2. Cleanses the colon
3. Supports the immune system
4. Lose weight
5. Hydrates the skin and detoxifies
6. Provides resistance against
cancer

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
•COLOR – pure water is colorless; colored water can indicate
pollution. Colour can also show organic substances. The maximum
acceptable level for the color of drinking water is 15 TCU (True color
unit).
•TURBIDITY – pure water is clear and does not absorb light. If
turbidity appears in the water, it may indicate water pollution.
•TASTE AND ODOR – pure water is always tasteless and odorless. If
any type of taste and smell is present, it may indicate water pollution.

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
.
TEMPERATURE –measures how hot or cold water. It affects most
water quality parameters and plays a major role in aquatic life and
habitats. It shows that different animals have different range of
temperature tolerance.
TEMPERATURE AFFECTS
a. reproductive capacity of organisms
b. enzyme linked chemical reactions in the cells
c. effects growth
d. development
e. morphology

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 An increase in the temperature increased enzymatic
activity which results in an increase in the rate of
metabolism.

Low temperatures usually inhibit or stop microbial growth

and proliferation but often do not kill bacteria.

Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions.

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 BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

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 BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

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 BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
DISSOLVED OXYGEN refers to the level of free, non-
compound oxygen present in water or other liquids. It is an
important parameter in assessing water quality because of its
influence on the organisms living within a body of water. A
dissolved oxygen level that is too high or too low can harm
aquatic life and affect water quality.

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 BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

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 Consequences of Unusual DO Levels
Fish kill / Winterkill
A fishkill occurs when a large number of fish in
an area of water die off. It can be species-based
or a water-wide mortality. Fish kills can occur for
a number of reasons, but low dissolved oxygen
is often a factor.
A winterkill is a fish kill caused by prolonged
reduction in dissolved oxygen due to ice or snow
cover on a lake or pond

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 BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN
DEMAND (BOD) of water
determines the impact of
decaying matter on species in
a specific ecosystem.
BDO levels:
Unpolluted rivers : below 1
part per million (equivalent
to 1 mg/L)
Untreated sewage: between
200 and 600 ppm.

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Unit: parts per million (ppm) Higher BOD indicates more oxygen is
required, which is less for oxygen-demanding species to feed on, and
signifies lower water quality. Inversely, low BOD means less oxygen is
being removed from water, so water is generally purer.

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Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a test that measures
the amount of oxygen required to chemically oxidize the
organic material and inorganic nutrients, such as Ammonia or
Nitrate, present in water.

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 The total bacteria count (TBC) of a
substance is a quantitative estimate of
the number of microorganisms present
in a sample.
 UNIT:number of colony-forming bacterial
units (CFU) per gram (or milliliter)
 The most common allowable bacterial
numbers used by health departments,
water-supply agencies, and local
jurisdictions vary from 100/ml to 500/ml
of colony-forming units.

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 The Maximum
Contaminant Level (MCL)
for bacteria in drinking
water is zero total
coliform colonies per 100
milliliters of water as
established by the EPA.

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