How do interactions take place between biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem

Biotic Factors Biotic factors include interactions between organisms, like disease, predation, parasitism, and competition among species or within a single species. In addition, living organisms themselves are biotic factors. They fall into three main categories: producers, consumers, and decomposers. • Producers: These organisms, which include plants and algae, convert abiotic factors into food. Most producers use the sun’s energy along with water and carbon dioxide in a process called • Consumers: Most consumers are animals, and they do not make their own food. Instead, they consume producers or other consumers to obtain food energy. That’s why consumers are also known as heterotrophs: “hetero” means different or other, because they obtain their nourishment from species other than themselves. Consumers can be herbivores, carnivores or omnivores. Herbivores feed on producers; they include animals like horses, elephants, and manatees. Carnivores feed on other consumers. They include lions, wolves, and orcas. Omnivores, such as birds, bears, and lobster, feed on both producers and consumers. • Decomposers: These are the organisms that break down organic matter from dead plants and animals into the inorganic components, like carbon and nitrogen, that are necessary for life. The inorganic matter then returns to the soil and water as nutrients that can be used by producers anew, continuing the cycle. Decomposers are also called saprotrophs: from the Greek “saprós,” or rotten, ...

Marine ecosystems are aquatic environments with high levels of dissolved salt, such as those found in or near the ocean. Marine ecosystems are defined by their unique biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors. Biotic factors include plants, animals, and microbes; important abiotic factors include the amount of sunlight in the ecosystem, the amount of oxygen and nutrients dissolved in the water, proximity to land, depth, and temperature. Sunlight is one of the most important abiotic factors for marine ecosystems. It’s so important that scientists classify parts of marine ecosystems—up to three—by the amount of light they receive. The topmost part of a marine ecosystem is the euphotic zone, extending down as far as 200 meters (656 feet) below the surface. At this depth, there is sufficient light for regular photosynthetic activity. Most marine life inhabits this zone. Below the euphotic zone is the dysphotic zone, which can reach from 200 to as deep as 1,000 meters (656 to 3,280 feet) below the surface. At these depths, sunlight is still available, but only enough to facilitate some photosynthesis. Below the dysphotic zone lies the aphotic zone, which does not receive any sunlight. Types of Marine Ecosystems Scientists divide marine ecosystems into several broad categories, although there are discrepancies depending on the source about what qualifies as a marine ecosystem. The number of marine ecosystems is actively debated. Although there is some disagreement, several...

Have you ever hiked through a forest and noticed the incredible diversity of organisms living together, from ferns to trees to mushrooms the size of dinner plates? Or taken a road trip and watched the landscape change outside the window, shifting from oak forest to tall stands of pine to grassy plains? If so, you’ve gotten a classic taste of ecology, the branch of biology that examines how organisms interact with each other and with their physical environment. Ecology isn't just about species-rich forests, pristine wilderness, or scenic vistas, though. Have you, for instance, ever found cockroaches living under your bed, mold growing in your shower, or even fungus creeping in between your toes? If so, then you’ve seen equally valid examples of ecology in action. One core goal of ecology is to understand the distribution and abundance of living things in the physical environment. For instance, your backyard or neighborhood park probably has a very different set of plants, animals, and fungi than the backyard of a fellow Khan Academy learner on the opposite side of the globe. These patterns in nature are driven by interactions among organisms as well as between organisms and their physical environment. Let's apply the idea of biotic and abiotic factors to another organism, one that a field ecologist might be likely to study. Red pandas are distant relatives of raccoons and are found only in the eastern Himalayas. They spend most of their time in trees and eat a primarily veg...

Amanda Robb Amanda has taught high school science for over 10 years. She has a Master's Degree in Cellular and Molecular Physiology from Tufts Medical School and a Master's of Teaching from Simmons College. She is also certified in secondary special education, biology, and physics in Massachusetts. • Instructor What Are Ecosystem Interactions? Interactions in an ecosystem occur between organisms and themselves, and organisms and the environment. These interactions are important for the health of the ecosystem. Ecosystems are a collection of all the living things, called biotic factors, and nonliving things, called abiotic factors in an area. Biotic factors can be divided into two groups, heterotrophs and autotrophs. Heterotrophs are organisms that must eat to get energy, such as animals, bacteria and fungi. Autotrophs are organisms that can make their own food, such as plants and some chemosynthetic bacteria. Autotrophs create the food needed to supply the entire food web. Interactions between autotrophs and heterotrophs transfer energy through the ecosystem and help keep the ecosystem at homeostasis, or a balance. • • • 26K views How Do Organisms Interact With Each Other In An Ecosystem? Ecology interactions within the environment can be divided into how organisms interact with each other, and how they interact with the environment. There are several interactions including: • Intraspecific interactions • Competition • Predation • Herbivory • Symbiosis Intraspecific intera...

1. Introduce vocabulary terms related to ecological interactions and symbiosis. Explain that in this activity students will use a series of videos, images, and scenarios to identify and discuss examples of ecological and symbiotic relationships in the ocean. Write the following terms on the board: competition, predation, symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Do not include the definitions yet. First, ask students to identify the root words and brainstorm what types of ecological and symbiotic relationships the terms describe. Then, review the definitions of the terms. Point out that the term symbiosis is an overarching term for predation and competition are not generally considered to be symbiotic. • competition—when two or more organisms rely on the same environmental resource • predation—behavior of one animal feeding on another • symbiosis—the close relationship of two dissimilar organisms • mutualism—a symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit • commensalism—a symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and one does not benefit but is unharmed • parasitism—a symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and one is harmed 2. Build background about National Geographic Crittercam. Explain to students that they will watch footage from a National Geographic project called Crittercam. Crittercam’s goal is to help researchers understand the day-to-day lives and ecological relationships of different species. Scientists fit wild animals with ...

The ecosystem is the structural and functional unit of ecology where living things (biotic) and non-living things (abiotic) interact with each other to maintain the balance in the environment. Biotic and abiotic are two components of ecosystem. The biotic components include producers, consumers and decomposers (example:microorganisms)whereas the abiotic components include temperature, light, soil, etc. Theabiotic factorslikesoil and waterinteractwithbiotic factorsin the form of providing nutrients.

Table of Contents • • • • • • How do biotic and abiotic work together to maintain the balance of the ecosystem? In general, abiotic factors like rock, soil, and water interact with biotic factors in the form of providing nutrients. Just as humans mine mountains and cultivate soil, rock and soil provide resources for plants, and plants cycle the nutrients through so they (usually) end up back in the ground where they began. How do you maintain a healthy pond ecosystem? For starters, follow our 7 tips below to help keep your pond water clean! • Maintain a healthy fish population. • Don’t over-feed your fish. • Create a proper balance of plants. • Choose the right size pump for your pond. • Clean debris from pond before it has a chance to decay. • Choose proper filtration for your pond. What is the relationship between abiotic and biotic? Introduction In ecology and biology, abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment which affect ecosystems. Biotic describes a living component of an ecosystem; for example organisms, such as plants and animals. Examples Water, light, wind, soil, humidity, minerals, gases. Why is it important to maintain balance in an ecosystem How can we maintain the balance in the ecosystem? They get enough food to keep them alive. Ecological balance is also important because it leads to the continuous existence of the organisms. It ensures that no particular species is exploited or overused. In addition, ecological bal...

For example, Remora fish ride other fish and sharks and then eat their leftover food. The sharks and large fish are said not to be affected by the presence of the Remora as they ride them and then eat the leftover food. This interaction would be classed as competitive if Remora fought their hosts for food instead of waiting until they were finished. Adrianne Elizabeth is a freelance writer and editor. She has a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Biodiversity, and Marine Biology from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Driven by her love and fascination with all animals behavior and care, she also gained a Certificate in Captive Wild Animal Management from UNITEC in Auckland, New Zealand, with work experience at Wellington Zoo. Before becoming a freelance writer, Adrianne worked for many years as a Marine Aquaculture Research Technician with Plant & Food Research in New Zealand. Now Adrianne's freelance writing career focuses on helping people achieve happier, healthier lives by using scientifically proven health and wellness techniques. Adrianne is also focused on helping people better understand ecosystem functions, their importance, and how we can each help to look after them.