Biotic and Abiotic Factors in Ecosystems Unit A: Sustainability of Ecosystems

Ecology

Study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment.

Can be divided into several levels: individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

1. Organism and Habitat

: studying the unique living organism alone and how it survives in its habitat.

: studying the individual

2. Population

: studying how organisms of the same species interact and share their habitats.

Eg: herd of bison and how they interact with each other

3. Community

: studying how different populations in a particular area interact.

Eg: bison, zebra, antelope, plants

4. Ecosystem

: studying how both living communities and physical environment interact.

: community and non-living surroundings

: different types of ecosystems: forest, desert, grassland, marine, freshwater

5. Biosphere

: the total area of Earth where living things are found and how they interact with non living

: sum of all ecosystems

In Pairs…

Give an example of the following levels of organization in West Vancouver:

1. Organism

2. Population

3. Community

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

Biotic Factors

the living components of an ecosystem

Eg: plants, animals, grass

Abiotic Factors

the non-living components of an ecosystem

Eg: temperature, humidity, rocks

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

Biotic and Abiotic factors are interconnected.

Eg: A tree in a woodland is a producer providing the basic unit of energy for the rest of the ecosystem. But at the same time it competes for light with other trees and may be the host to parasitic plants.

Limiting Factor

Sometimes, there is one factor that is the most critical in determining the types of organisms that can exist in an ecosystem.

This is called a limiting factor.

Dynamic Equilibrium

Abiotic and biotic factors connected.

Organisms alter the environment around them affects other organisms.

An ecosystem that is in balance is said to be in dynamic equilibrium. This means there is continuous change, but the overall system remains stable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1pp_7-yTN4