Unit 3 (part 6): Biotic and Abiotic Components of an Environment
Concepts: Students will explore biotic and abiotic components of the environment
and the interaction between these components.
Objective: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the concepts of biotic and
abiotic components. Specific objectives include:
1. Explain how living things interact with abiotic and biotic components of the
environment.
2. Review food webs and separate components of the web into biotic and
abiotic components.
3. Investigate the impact on the structure and stability of ecosystems due to
changes in their biotic and abiotic components as a result of human activity.
Summary: Ecosystems are made of multiple components, working together to
provide habitats for the flora and fauna within them. These components can be
classified as either biotic or abiotic. Interactions between these components result
in changes in the ecosystem and variations due to human activities and natural
disasters can cause upheaval in an ecosystem. We will explore the interactions
between these components and see where algae fit in to certain ecosystems.
Useful Websites:
http://www.biology-online.org/6/3_abiotic_factors.htm
http://regentsprep.org/regents/biology/units/ecology/biotic.cfm
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/kling/ecos
ystem/ecosystem.html
http://www.ogwa-hydrog.ca/files/images/ecosystem.jpg
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/aquaticed/screelkids/images/AquaticFoodWeb.gif
© 2010, Ohio Northern University: Dr. Debra Gallagher, Dr. Robert Verb, Dr. Ken Reid and Ben McPheron
Activity Sheets:
Ecosystem Handout
Example Food Web
Engage:
1. Hand out example food chain. Ask students to explain how the food chain
works and to identify the role that algae play.
2. Ask: What components make up a healthy ecosystem/environment?
Explore:
1. Biotic and Abiotic Components
a. Abiotic components are non-living chemical or physical factors in an
ecosystem
b. Examples include:
i. Sunlight
ii. Temperature
iii. Water chemistry
c. Biotic components are living organisms and factors related to their
behavior in an ecosystem
d. Examples include:
i. Primary producers (algae and plants)
ii. Herbivores
iii. Carnivores
iv. Parasites
v. Bacteria
vi. Decomposers/Detritivores
2. How do the following effect the ecosystem? Can you identify what type of
component/factor (Biotic or Abiotic) they are? Explain how each action can
affect the food web.
a. Predation: the act of hunting by predators (biotic factor) [Overhunting
is an important topic here]
© 2010, Ohio Northern University: Dr. Debra Gallagher, Dr. Robert Verb, Dr. Ken Reid and Ben McPheron
b. Competition: multiple species competing for the same limited
resource (biotic factor)
c. Natural disaster: i.e. hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, etc. (abiotic
factor)
d. Weather: unusually cold, hot, wet, dry, etc. (abiotic factor)
3. ‘Send a Problem’ Activity
a. Student groups of ~4
b. Each group writes an environmental scenario
c. They send their problem to the next group and each group determines
whether the components are biotic or abiotic
d. Repeat the process until each group has discussed each scenario
e. Share results as a class
Explain:
1. Keep the students in their groups
2. Hand out the ‘Ecosystem Handout’. Explain that this handout represents
and aquatic food web. Have students identify which components of the
environment are biotic and which are abiotic.
a. Abiotic components in this handout include:
i. Sunlight
ii. Water
iii. Dissolved chemicals (those from outside sources like runoff)
b. Biotic components in this handout include:
i. Producers
ii. Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary consumers
iii. Decomposers
3. Discuss human involvement. What can happen to an ecosystem if humans
interact in the following way? Explain how each action can affect all parts
of the food web.
a. Humans build a city and destroy the habitat of a certain predator
b. Humans overhunt a key prey animal
c. Deforestation (destruction of habitat and primary producers)
d. Oil spill
© 2010, Ohio Northern University: Dr. Debra Gallagher, Dr. Robert Verb, Dr. Ken Reid and Ben McPheron
Extend:
1. Ask groups to apply some of the principles they learned to what they know
about algae.
a. Construct an aquatic ecosystem food web/chain (this is review from
Module 1) and identify environmental factors as biotic or abiotic.
b. Have the groups construct another food web/chain including an
assigned human event from the Explain section, (adjusting the food
web that they created in a) reflecting the impact of that event on the
ecosystem
c. Have the groups share their human involvement webs, describing how
the example human components above can affect the ecosystem and
the end result for the algae in the ecosystem
d. Discuss how human removal of algae can have a negative effect on an
ecosystem
e. Discuss how human introduction of a non-native, invasive species of
algae can impact an ecosystem
Evaluate:
1. Have students write a paragraph about the difference between biotic and
abiotic factors and have them give examples of how each could affect an
ecosystem.
© 2010, Ohio Northern University: Dr. Debra Gallagher, Dr. Robert Verb, Dr. Ken Reid and Ben McPheron
© 2010, Ohio Northern University: Dr. Debra Gallagher, Dr. Robert Verb, Dr. Ken Reid and Ben McPheron
Ecosystem Handout
© 2010, Ohio Northern University: Dr. Debra Gallagher, Dr. Robert Verb, Dr. Ken Reid and Ben McPheron