After reading the textbook and topic readings, please review this online presentation.

1. Abiotic and Biotic Factors
Module 1 Review
IRE: 201

2. What is an Ecosystem?
• An ecosystem is a specific area of land that has specific
characteristics associated with it.
• For example, would you see a crocodile in a desert?
• There are two broad categories of ecosystems: aquatic and
terrestrial.

3. Working Together
• Living and nonliving things work together to make an
ecosystem flourish.
• Ecosystems are important to our human lives because they
offer…
• Supporting services
• Provision services
• Regulating services
• Cultural services

4. Biotic Factors
• ”Bio” means life.
• Biotic factors are the living
components of an ecosystem.
• Examples include plants, animals,
fungi, microorganisms, and humans.
Fig 1: Pond Ecosystem with Abiotic and Biotic Factors
(source: http://acamrmicheal.weebly.com/ecology---
abiotic--biotic-vocabulary.html)

5. Biotic Factors
• What biotic factors can you find
located in the image to the right?
• Even if something is deceased, it is
still considered a biotic factor
because it was once living.
Fig 1: Pond Ecosystem with Abiotic and Biotic Factors
(source: http://acamrmicheal.weebly.com/ecology---
abiotic--biotic-vocabulary.html)

6. Breaking It Down
• What do you notice about figure two?
• It starts with a single organism and
builds its way to all life on earth
(biosphere).
Fig 2: Breakdown
Source: https://socratic.org/questions/what-is-the-difference-between-organism-
population- community-ecosystem-and-biosp

7. Breaking It Down
• A biome is a large, vast area of land
that has distinct climates and plants.
• A community is all the populations of
living things together.
• A population is all the members of one
kind of organism that lives in the
ecosystem.
Fig 2: Breakdown
Source: https://socratic.org/questions/what-is-the-difference-between-organism-
population- community-ecosystem-and-biosp

8. Abiotic Factors
• Abiotic means lack of life.
• Abiotic factors are the
nonliving components of an
ecosystem.
• Examples include temperature,
water, soil, air, and sunlight.
Fig 1: Pond Ecosystem with Abiotic and Biotic Factors
(source: http://acamrmicheal.weebly.com/ecology---
abiotic--biotic-vocabulary.html)

9. Abiotic Factors: Soil
• Soil is at the bottom of an ecosystem.
• Plants are provided with the nutrients they need to grow
here.
• Soil also helps anchor plants and store water.

10. Abiotic Factors: Water
• Without water, life in the ecosystem would disappear.
• In aquatic ecosystems, water is considered home to
organisms.
• Water can either be freshwater or saltwater.

11. Abiotic Factors:
Temperature & Sunlight
• Some organisms like warm weather and some prefer the
cold.
• For example, organisms housed in the tundra would not be
expected to be seen in a desert.
• Organisms adapt to the temperature of their habitat.

12. Abiotic Factors
• What abiotic factors can you
find located in the image to
the right?
• Hint: The rotting log would not
be an abiotic factor because it
was once a living tree.
Fig 1: Pond Ecosystem with Abiotic and Biotic Factors
(source: http://acamrmicheal.weebly.com/ecology---
abiotic--biotic-vocabulary.html)

13. Types of Ecosystems
• Abiotic and biotic factors present help determine which
ecosystem is present.
• There are two broad categories of ecosystems:
1. Terrestrial: Land-based
2. Aquatic: Water-based

14. Types of Ecosystems: Terrestrial
• Terrestrial ecosystems are land-
based.
• Here are examples of terrestrial
ecosystems:
• Forests
• Wetlands
• Grasslands
Fig 9: Grassland

15. Types of Ecosystems: Aquatic
• Aquatic ecosystems are water-
based.
• Here are examples of aquatic
ecosystems:
• Oceans
• Estuaries
• Lakes and ponds
Fig 8: Estuary

16. Summary of Concepts
• An ecosystem contains all the organisms (biotic factors) and
their nonliving surrounding environments (abiotic factors).
• Biotic factors are living.
• Abiotic factors are nonliving.