Lesson 4:

Biotic and Abiotic

factors in the
Ecosystem
• Level of organization is used to show how
organisms interact with each other & their
environment
• Abiotic factors = non-living components that affect living
organisms
• Interaction relationship among physical factors in the
environment
• Ex. Temperature, sunlight, rocks

• Biotic Factors = all living things or their materials that directly or

indirectly affect organisms in its environment (includes
interactions)
• Ex. Plants, animals, fungi, bacteria
ABIOTIC BIOTIC
FACTORS FACTORS
Water Plants
Sunlight Animals
Soil Microorganisms
Oxygen All living things
Water
• 1. Water is an important ecological factor. It is an
inorganic substance which plays an important
role in the ecosystem
• 2. It brings about changes in the life forms of
plants and animals. As aquatic plants and animals
have different structures from terrestrial form.
• 3. Water is very irregularly distributed on the
earth’s surface. It has an important bearing on the
character of the organisms that live on various
types of habitat.
• Plants are classified
• Plants have different adaptations that
help them survive in different condition.
• CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS BASED ON
WATER RELATIONSHIPS
1. Tropophytes
- these plants that can adapt it year after year
where seasonal changes bring mark change in the
amount of available water from the soil.
Any plant that lives in an environment in which
heavy rainfall alternates with periods of drought.
 Mesophytes require an
environment that is neither too
wet nor too dry.
 Water lost from stomata is
matched by water gain from the
environment
 Under stress (Like winter)
these plants shed their leaves
 Perennials survive
unfavourable conditions by
dying down and surviving
underground. Annuals survive
as dormant seeds. 8
M
 Hydrophytes are plants that
require a large supply of
water.
 They can grow wholly or
partly submerged in water.
 The stems and leaves have
little to no cuticle (outer
waxy layer of leaf) as they
do not need to conserve
water.
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 Salt tolerant
 Store water in special tissue
 Tissue has lots of air spaces
 Some can excrete salt
though special glands or by
dropping yellowish leaves
where salt has been
accumulated.
 Many are succulents (Water
retaining plants)
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 Grow in hot, dry
environments therefore
have adapted to
conserve water and to
prevent leaf
temperature from rising
too much
 Often these
adaptations are of the
leaves
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• A(n) ___b_io_t_ic_____ factor is a living (or once
living) component of an ecosystem.

• A(n) __a_b_i_o_ti_c____ factor is a non-living component of

an ecosystem.
• SOIL

. The soil is another important ecological

• 1

factor. On land, the character of the soil

determines largely the character of
vegetation and the types of animals that
maintain themselves upon on it.

• 2. Organisms find different kinds of soil

available for their habitats.
• TYPES OF SOIL

. The soil is another important ecological

• 1

factor. On land, the character of the soil

determines largely the character of
vegetation and the types of animals that
maintain themselves upon on it.

• 2. Organisms find different kinds of soil

available for their habitats.
• An ecosystem is the interaction
betweenbi_o_t_ic_______ a n dabiotic
__________ factors
Biotic Abiotic
Biotic Abiotic
Biotic

Abiotic
Biotic Abiotic
Biotic Abiotic
• Do these abiotic factors affect the biotic parts of an
ecosystem? How?
If there is no water…can anything grow or
survive?
No!

If it is extremely cold one winter, will that

affect whether an animal makes it?
No!

So, abiotic and biotic DO affect each other. Even

though water and temperature aren’t living things,
they DO affect living things!
Biotic & Abiotic Influences
 Trees

Fish

Water

Squirrels

Ai
r
 Trees
Temperatu
Soil
re

Bacteria
Grass

Fish

Water

Sun

Squirrels

Deer
Ai
Minerals Flowers r
• What abiotic factors are important for a plant to grow?
• Provides warmth to living organisms
• Provides solar energy (light) for green plants to make
their own food
• The number of hours of daylight triggers seasonal events,
such as:
-plants flowering
-birds migrating
• Important for life processes of all living things (plants
and animals) such as:
-distributing food particles through their bodies
-digesting food
• Important for organisms
that live under water, such as:
-trout
-whales
-algae
• Provides oxygen (O2), which animals breathe

• Provides carbon dioxide (CO2) for plants to use to make

their own food
• Provides a home for many animals that live underground
-earthworms

• Provides nutrients for plants

• Plants grow in soil

Organize the following words into TWO lists, Biotic and Abiotic
Factors:
Snake
Rain Oxygen
Clouds Mountain Sand
Moss Leaf People
Goldfish
Wind
Ph of soil Mud Sunlight
Ai Weather
Tulip r
Bumblebee Raccoon Temperature Polar Bear
Soil Earthworm
Rocks
Gold Minerals
Salamander Moon
Deer
Volcanoes Lake
Ice Fire

A cell Maple tree

Climate Raspberry bush
Corn on Eagle
the plant
 Organize the following words into TWO lists, Abiotic and
Biotic Factors:

Biotic Abiotic
Goldfish Moss Polar Bear Wind Clouds Sand
Leaf Raccoon Earthworm Sunlight Ph of soil Weather

Bumblebee Tulip Salamander Oxygen Ai Mountain

r
Maple tree People Deer Mud Minerals Ice

Eagle A cell Corn on Moon Soil Rocks

the plant
Raspberry bush Lake Temperature Volcanoes

Snake Fire Climate

Rain
Gold