Notes: Biotic & Abiotic Factors

A. Ecology

•The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

B. Ecosystem

•The living and the nonliving things in an area.

C. Habitat

•The place where an organism lives and provides the needs for that organism.

D. Abiotic Factors

•The nonliving factors that effect living things.

•1. Water - all life processes depend on water.

•2. Soil - determines the types of plants that can live in a certain location.

•3. Sunlight - provides energy for all living things.

•4. Temperature - determines the organisms that can live there.

•5. Oxygen - most living things require it to live.

E. Biotic Factors•The living things in the environment. Ex: plants and animals.

F. Levels of Organization

1. Organism

2. Population•All the members of one species that lives in the same place at the same time.

3. Community•All of the populations of different species that live in the same place (all biotic factors).

4. Ecosystem•All of the biotic and abiotic factors in a particular area.

5. Biosphere•All of the ecosystems on Earth where life is found (crust, water, and atmosphere).