Abiotic and Biotic Factors Presented by Kesler Science

Essential Questions: What are the biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem? How do organisms and populations in an ecosystem depend on and compete for biotic and abiotic factors?

Levels of organization in an ecosystem Abiotic and Biotic Factors Levels of organization in an ecosystem Organism An individual form of life, such as a plant, an animal, a bacterium, a protist, or a fungus. © KeslerScience.com

Levels of organization in an ecosystem Abiotic and Biotic Factors Levels of organization in an ecosystem Populations Comprised of all the individuals of a given species in an area at a certain time. Not all individuals are identical. Most importantly, not all members of the population are equal in their ability to survive and reproduce. © KeslerScience.com

Levels of organization in an ecosystem Abiotic and Biotic Factors Levels of organization in an ecosystem Community The populations of organisms of different species in a specific area at a given time. © KeslerScience.com

Ecosystem Abiotic and Biotic Factors All of the living (biotic) and all of the physical nonliving factors (abiotic) in an area. Ecosystems can only support a certain number of individuals based on the amount of food, water, living space, mates and other resources. © KeslerScience.com

Biotic Factors Abiotic and Biotic Factors Bio = prefix for life Living or once-living organisms in an ecosystem. Animals Plants Fungi Bacteria © KeslerScience.com

Abiotic Factors Abiotic and Biotic Factors A = prefix for not or without Non-living elements in an ecosystem. Water Air Soil – rocks and minerals Sunlight Temperature © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action – Abiotic and Biotic Factors Stand up and find a partner to work with. Make a T chart on a piece of paper. List all the abiotic and biotic factors you see in this ecosystem. © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action – INB Template Biotic Factors Glue this side to journal Title INB Template Cut out the Template Glue into INB. Define and make a list of biotic factors. © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action – INB Template Abiotic Factors Temperature Air Water Soil, Rocks & Minerals Light Title INB Template Cut out the Template Glue along the narrow flap into our INB. Draw and color pictures to represent each abiotic factor. Fold along dotted lines. © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action – INB Template Biotic Factors Abiotic Draw a picture of a neighborhood park. List the biotic & abiotic factors under the flaps. Title INB Template Cut out the Template along dark lines. Draw a picture of a neighborhood park on the top portion. Glue top portion into INB. Fold along dotted line. List biotic and abiotic factors found in your picture under the appropriate flap. © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action – Abiotic and Biotic Factors We’d be run over with mice on the planet!!! What would happen if…? Two mice produced 56 baby mice each year. Each of these mice has 56 babies each year… Calculate the total mice born in one year started by the original pair. Have students assume that half of the babies born are female and half male. Why doesn’t this really happen © KeslerScience.com

Carrying Capacity Abiotic and Biotic Factors The largest number of individuals of the same species that an area can support. If the population exceeds the carrying capacity, some individuals will die or move to another location. Determined by elements called limiting factors. © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action - Abiotic and Biotic Factors Stand up and find a partner to work with. What is the carrying capacity of this fish tank? What would happen if a small bass was added to the tank? How would the bass affect the carrying capacity of the tank? © KeslerScience.com

Limiting Factor Abiotic and Biotic Factors An abiotic or biotic factor that limits the number of individuals that can live in an ecosystem. Keeps the population from growing too large. Two types of limiting factors you might want to talk about. Density dependent limiting factors include disease, competition, and predation. Some density dependent limiting factors lower reproductive growth rate at lower population sizes and other factors lower reproductive growth rate at higher population sizes. Density dependent limiting factors are a form of biotic factor. Density independent limiting factors usually involve environmental stress. Density independent factors are not influenced by population change and and are usually abiotic. Some examples of density independent factors are nutrient limitation, climate extremes, and pollutants in the environment.  © KeslerScience.com

How do biotic factors limit other organisms in its environment? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do biotic factors limit other organisms in its environment? Competition for food When resources are scarce fewer organisms can survive. When resources are plentiful greater numbers of organisms can survive. © KeslerScience.com

How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Predator-prey relationships Greater the number of prey the greater the number of predators Fewer the number of prey the fewer the number of © KeslerScience.com

How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Parasitism – when an organism lives off of a host organism sometimes killing the host. Worms in animal digestive tracts Mistletoe in trees Pine bark beetle invade and kill pine trees. © KeslerScience.com

How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Disease – when outbreaks kill off most or all of a population. Influenza outbreak causes millions of human deaths in 1918. Lyme Disease carried by ticks. © KeslerScience.com

How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do biotic factors limit other organisms in their environment? Human activities destroy animal habitats development damming rivers clear cutting forest © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action – Abiotic and Biotic Factors Get with a partner and discuss what competition is. Look at the picture and describe what competition is taking place between the tree and the giraffe. Explain how both have adapted to this competition. Are these abiotic or biotic factors competing? © KeslerScience.com

How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Sun - availability increases photosynthesis Plants compete for sunlight by growing taller than those around them. Temperature Warm lush areas support greater numbers of populations with less competition occurring. Cold harsh areas support limited numbers of populations with greater competition occurring. © KeslerScience.com

How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Soil Nutrient rich soils produces more carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and support larger populations. (Less competition) Nutrient poor soils support smaller populations. (more competition) © KeslerScience.com

How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Water Availability, movement, temperature, saltiness, chemical components (quality) all affect competition and ability to survive in populations. © KeslerScience.com

How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Abiotic and Biotic Factors How do abiotic factors limit organisms in an ecosystem? Changing Conditions drought, flood, volcanic eruption, earthquake bring about changes that reduce populations. © KeslerScience.com

Quick Action – Abiotic and Biotic Factors Get with a partner to discuss what might happen in the following situations. A drought occurs and all the water in the pond dries up. How many of the biotic organisms would survive? How would they be able to survive? Share your findings with the class. © KeslerScience.com

Abiotic and Biotic Factors All biotic and abiotic factors are interrelated. In nature you will find that if one factor is changed or removed, it impacts the availability of other resources within the system. What factor was removed from this ecosystem? How did it affect the population in the ecosystem? © KeslerScience.com

Check for Understanding Can you… List the abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem? Investigate how organisms and populations in an ecosystem compete for biotic and abiotic factors? © KeslerScience.com