Pages 532-537
Section 1
Bell Ringer

Describe Abiotic and Biotic
factors in your journal.
The Environment

 Ecology
 Study of the interactions among organisms and
their environment.
Ecologists
 Scientists who study environmental
relationships
 Organize the environmental factors that
influence organisms into 2 groups
ABIOTIC
BIOTIC
Comparing Abiotic and
Biotic
Factors
Abiotic
 Non-living parts of the environment
Examples:
I. Water
II. Light & Temperature
III. Air
IV. Soil
Comparing Abiotic and
Biotic Factors

Biotic Factors
 Living or once-living organisms in the environment
Examples:
I. Levels or organization
II. Population
III. Communities
IV. Ecosystems
V. Biomes
VI. The Biosphere
Video Time

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfmew9C508
Bell Ringer

 Describe the “biome” in which we live.
 Must answer with at least 5 sentences. Be in depth
and cover what is observed in this area.
Abiotic Factors

5 Factors:
Water
Light
Temperature
Air
Soil
Abiotic Factors

1. Water
All organisms need water to survive
Organisms are made of 50%-95% water
Respiration, photosynthesis, digestion, and
other important life process can only occur
with presence of water
95% of Earth’s surface water is found in
oceans
Examples of Water

Pacific Ocean-Kauai, Hawaii
Dale Hollow Lake
Cumberland River & Lake Cumberland
Bayou-Gueydan, LA
Abiotic Factors

2. Light
 Availability of sun light is a major factor in
determining where green plants and other
photosynthetic organisms live
 Energy from Sun is changed into chemical energy
 Algae-lives near water surface
 Dense forest have very little photosynthetic
plants, why?
Plant Examples

The Garden of Eden-Kauai
North Shore-Kauai
Kipu Ranch-Kauai
-conifers
Abiotic Factors

3. Temperature
 Regional temperature also determines which plants
and animals can live there
 Some areas of the world have fairly consistent
temperature year round
 Other areas have season during which temperatures
vary
 Arctic, Desert, Mid-Atlantic, Tropical, Arid, and Mild
Temperature Variations

Rain Forest-Brazil
Arctic Plain-Antarctica
Mojave Desert-CA
Appalachian Mts-TN
Great Plains-Kansas
Tropical Island-FL Keys
4. Air
Abiotic Factors

 Composed of a mixture of gases including Nitrogen,
Oxygen, and Carbon Dioxide.
 Plants & Animals depend on the gases in air for
respirations (breathe)
 All species are affected by weather
 Weather- 8km to 16 km (from surface)
 Ozone Layer-20km to 50km (from surface)
Few organisms live at extreme air pressures
5. Soil
Abiotic Factors

 Varies greatly from one environment to
another
 Soil Type-determined by amount of Sand,
Silt, and Clay it contains
 Various soils contains different amounts
of nutrients, minerals, and moisture
Soil affects every organism in an environment!
Soil

Top Soil-rich in nutrients and
moisture (plant crops)
Red Clay-sub soil-very acidic
(use as filler dirt)
Bed Rock-mostly
limestone/sandstone
(paving stone)
Biotic Factors

 Abiotic Factors do not provide everything an
organism needs for survival
 Organisms depend on other organisms for:




Food
Shelter
Protection
Reproduction
Biotic Factors

Biotic Factors Include:





Bacteria
Protists
Fungi
Plants
Animals
Levels of Organization

1. Organism: one individual from a population
Mallard Drake “GreenHead”
Levels of Organization

2. Population:
all of the individual of one species that
live in the same area at the same time.
Levels of Organization

3. Community:
the populations of different species that
interact in some way
Levels of Organization

4. Ecosystem:
all of the communities in an area and the
abiotic factors they interact with
Levels of Organization

5. Biome:
large region with plants and animals well
adapted to the soil and climate of the region
Levels of Organization

6. Biosphere: The level of biological organization that is
made up of all the ecosystems on Earth
Biosphere

 Where Earth’s organisms live
 Can be found
 11,000 m deep in the ocean
 9,000 m high on the mountains
 4.5 km high in atmosphere
Extremophiles
Includes top part of Earth’s crust, all the waters that covers the
Earth’s surface, the surrounding atmosphere, and all biomes!