Where Do I Belong?
Enter the items from the following list into the Venn
diagram. At the center, place what contains both abiotic
and biotic factors.
climate organic matter living things
oysters sunlight
nonliving things
crabs
temperature
rocks
worm
nutrients enrichment phytoplankton
humidity mold
soil
Oxygen
coral
rain forest
BIOTIC-WITH LIFE
ABIOTIC-WITHOUT LIFE
Answers
Definition
A biotic factor is a living thing that has an impact on another population of living things or on the environment. Abiotic factors do the same thing, but they are non-living. Together, biotic and abiotic factors make up an ecosystem. To survive, biotic factors need abiotic factors. In turn, biotic factors can limit the kinds and amounts of biotic factors in an ecosystem.
Biotic factors are both organisms and the food the organisms eat. There are 3 categories of biotic factors, autotrophs, heterotrophs, and detritivores.
Autotrophs
The word autotroph means “self-feeder.” Also known as producers, the organisms in this category are mostly green plants and algae which make their own food through photosynthesis. The energy that they store serves as food for the consumers and decomposers (see below) either directly or indirectly.
Social abiotic factors describe how human activity can impact the land and resources in the area. Humans have an impact on many features of an ecosystem, but social factors are most likely to cause to larger-scale change. Thus, they can have profound impacts on other abiotic factors, biotic factors, entire ecosystems, and even entire biomes. Examples of social abiotic factors are clear-cutting of forests, mining, dam building, and farming.