An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts. Biotic factors include plants, animals, and other organisms.May 19, 2022

1. ECOSYSTEM

2. Ecosystem pertains to community living
things that interact with the nonliving
things in their physical environment.
Biotic factors refer to a living in an
ecosystem. Meanwhile, abiotic factors are
the physical and chemical components of
the environment that support and affect
living things.
Abiotic factors can be subdivided into
climatic edaphic and physiographic factors.

3. Climatic factors are those
that affect the weather
conditions like sunlight,
temperature, precipitation,
and wind among others. The
amount of the sunlight
reaching an ecosystem is
primarily determined by its
latitude

4. Latitude is a geographic
measurement on the planet in
degrees which ranges from 0
degrees for the equator and 90
degrees north or south for the
North Pole and South Pole,
respectively. Earth is tilted on
its axis by 23.5 degrees which
results to an unequal
distribution of sunlight on its
surface.

5. Tropical Zones are located between 0 degrees to 30
degrees latitude and receive the greatest amount of
sunlight. Meanwhile, the temperature zones are
located between 30 degrees to 60 degrees latitude and
receive less amount of sunlight than the tropical zones.
Lastly, the polar zones are located between 60 degrees
to 90 degrees latitude and receive the least amount of
sunlight of all climatic zones.

7. Sunlight is a critical factor for the
productivity of an ecosystem as
plants and other producers
depend on its for photosynthesis.
Sunlight also affects the activity of
animals. Some are diurnal or
more active during daytime like
humans, while others are
nocturnal or more active at night
like an owl or bat.

8. Temperature is the measure of hotness
or coldness of a place which is affected
by the amount of sunlight reaching the
area, humidity, altitude, the presence of
water body, and other factors. The
temperature of an ecosystem typically
varies from one period to another. It is
hotter during the day because of
exposure to sunlight and becomes
cooler at night.

9. The overall temperature of an
ecosystem is also affected by the
season which is the division of a year
into distinct overall weather because
of its latitude. Tropical regions have
two distinct seasons particularly dry
and wet seasons where average
temperature is higher during the dry
season and lower during the wet
season. Meanwhile, temperate regions
experience four distinct seasons,
namely spring, summer, autumn and
winter

10. The average temperature is coldest during winter,
warmest during summer, and intermediate during
spring and fall. Polar regions have cold summer and
extremely cold winter. Living organisms have
different temperature tolerance depending on their
overall physical and physiological characteristic .
Some organisms are more adapted to colder
temperature, while others are more adapted to
hotter temperatures. Drastic temperature changes
may disrupt the growth, survival, and reproduction
of an organism and failure to adapt to these
changes may result to its extinction.

11. Four seasons.
Spring is characterized by the sprouting
of new vegetation. Summer is the
hottest and favors maximal growth of
vegetation. The temperature begins to
drop during the autumn and the leaves
of deciduous trees begin to fall.
Winter is generally characterized by
snow and has coldest temperature of
the year.

12. Precipitation is the various forms of
water vapor condensation in the
atmosphere that falls on Earth’s surface
such as rain and snow.
Just like temperature, precipitation
varies through time for a given area as
exemplified in the average precipitation
graph for Manila in Figure
Precipitation affects the amount of
freshwater that can accumulate and
support an ecosystem.

13. Water is essential to all living organism
and its availability is critical to their
survival, growth, and reproduction.
Forest thrives in areas of abundant
precipitation and sunlight. Precipitation
replenishes freshwater in lakes, rivers,
and underground. Humans harness
precipitation for agriculture, energy
production, and other socioeconomic
activities. Excess precipitation may cause
flood, while too little precipitation may
trigger drought.

14. Wind is the moving air mass which is
affected by temperature and pressure
conditions along with the inertial force
of Earth’s rotation. The Coriolis effect
explains that the inertial forces of Earth’s
rotation causes objects in motion, such
as wind, to deflect to the right in the
Northern Hemisphere and to the left in
the Southern Hemisphere. This
phenomenon is used to predict the
motion of global wind pattern including
the path of storms , cyclones, typhoons,
and related weather disturbances.

15. Wind conditions affect the weather
disturbances. Wind conditions affect the
weather and climate of a location.
It is particularly important to the flight of
birds and insects.
Wind affects oceanic waves and current.
It is also harnessed by humans for
transportation and energy production.
Strong winds can be destructive and
may disrupt living organism and their
environment.

16. Edaphic factors are the
physicochemical factors of the soil
in an ecosystem that includes soil
type, composition, water content,
mineral composition, and organic
matter content. Soil is the primary
support of terrestrial ecosystem,
and it also plays an important role
even in aquatic ecosystems.

17. Soil is made up of three basic kinds of
particles depending on their size, namely
sand, silt, and clay with diameter range
2.0 to 0.05 mm, 0.05 to 0.002 mm, and
less than 0.002 mm, respectively. The
type of soil is determined by the
combination of these particles as shown
in the soil texture triangle in the Figure
4.4. The type of the soil determines
which kind of vegetation will grow best
on it. There are four general types of
soils, namely clay soil, sandy soil, silty
soil, and loam soil

18. Clay soil is dense, nutrient-rich, and
has high water retention but low
drainage. Meanwhile, sandy soil is
light, low in nutrient, and has low
water retention but very high
drainage. Silty soil is light, quite fertile,
and has average water retention
capability and drainage. Lastly, loam
soil has intermediate characteristic of
the three other soil types and is fertile,
thus, is considered as best soil type for
many kinds of plants

19. Humus is the organic component of
soil that is made up of decaying
matter such as leaves, animal
carcass, and other biodegradable
materials that are decomposed by
microorganisms. Human-rich soil is
a fertile soil and thus, suitable for
plant growth and propagation.

20. Physiographic Factors refer to the topography or
overall features of a place such as the presence of rivers,
lakes, mountains, or plains. Water-rich topographies are
typically abundant in various living organisms such as
rivers, lakes, and coastal regions. Mountainous
topographies have lower average temperature than
plains because of their high elevation. Mountains that
have abundant precipitation and sunlight are heavily
forested such as tropical rainforest that can support a
rich diversity of living organisms. Plains that are made up
of fertile soil and with abundant precipitation and
sunlight are ideal for farming of various crops and raising
of farm animals. Geographic forms that are scarce in
precipitation and freshwater resources are typically
barren and can only support a few kinds of living
organisms.

21. Biotic Factors
Biotic Components. They are
living thing found in an
ecosystem that can be
subdivided into autotrophs or
producers like plants (left),
heterotrophs or consumers like
various animals (center) and
saphotrophs or decomposing
organism like mushrooms (right)

22. Biotic Factors are the living things found
in an ecosystem which can be subdivided
into autotrophs, heterotrophs, and
saphotrophs as illustrated in Figure 4.5.
Autotrophs or producers can manufacture
their own food either by photosynthesis
(photoautotrophs) like plants and algae
or chemical synthesis (chemoautotrophs)
like archaea. They serve as the ultimate
food source for all living things.
Heterotrophs or consumers cannot
manufacture their own food and must
eat producers or other consumers for
nourishment.

23. Those that eat producers as their food source
are called primary consumers. Primary consumers
are then eaten by secondary consumers for
food, while tertiary consumers feed on
secondary ones. Animals that feed exclusively
on plants are called herbivores, while those
that feed exclusively on other animals are
carnivores. Omnivores are animals that feed on
both plants and other animals. Saprotrophs
derive their nourishment from decaying organic
matter such as bacteria, fungi, and some
protozoa. They play an important role in
recycling nutrients in an ecosystem.

24. Ecological Relationships refer to
the interactions between
individuals of various species that
can be symbiotic or non-symbiotic
in nature. Symbiotic relationships
are close interactions over a long
period of time which have an
impact on the survival of the
associated species. They include
both beneficial and harmful
interactions like commensalism,
mutualism, and parasitism

26. Symbiotic Relationships. They are
close interactions over a long period of
time which has an impact on the
survival of the associated species.
Symbiotic relationships includes both
beneficial and harmful interactions like
commensalism between and orchid
and a tree (left), Mutualism between a
remora and a manta ray (center), and
parasitism between ticks and a dog
(right)

27. In commensalism, one organism
benefits from the relationship
without harming the other one.
Examples of commensalism are the
growth of orchids on tree trunks
and the nesting of birds on a tree.
The tree serves as anchorage for
the roots of the orchids and
harbors the nest of a bird which
does not harm nor benefit the tree.

28. In mutualism, both organisms benefit from their
interaction. Examples of this are the relationships
between the corals and the algae that they harbor
and the remora fish on manta rays or sharks. Corals
derive 90% of their food from the algae called
zooxanthellae while the corals provides shelter for
the algae. Remora fish is a fish with a sucker-like
organ that it uses for attachment onto manta rays or
sharks. It benefits from this relationship by being
protected from predators and having a constant
flow of water through its gills while the larger fish is
moving. The manta rays or shark benefits from the
remora by being protected from ectoparasites that
the remora eats from its skin.

29. Lastly, parasitism, one organism benefits at the
expense of another in their interaction. The
parasite is the one that benefits while the one
being harmed is the host. Parasites that dwell
outside the host are called ectoparasites like
ticks in dogs, fleas in cats, and lice in humans.
Meanwhile, parasites that dwell inside an
organism are called endoparasites like worms
inside the intestines of animals and humans.
These parasites take nourishment from their
host which negatively affects the growth and
development of the host. Serious parasitic
infestation may even lead to the death of the
host.

30. Non-symbiotic relationships are those that
do not involve close association between
species like predation, competition, and
ammensalism as shown in FIGURE 4.7.
Predation is the relationship wherein one
animals kill another for food. The killer is
called the predator and the killed organism
is the prey. An example for this is a lion and
all animals that it hunts as prey like deer
and zebra. This is also exemplified between
a shark and all the marine organism that it
kills for food like fishes and seals.

31. Non-symbiotic Relationships.
These relationships do not involve
close association between species
like predation between shark and
seal (left), competition between
lion and hyena (center), and
ammensalism between Penicillium
and bacteria (right)

32. Lastly, ammensalism is a relationship
wherein one organism is inhibited or
destroyed while the other one is
unaffected. This can be seen with
Penicillium fungi, which produces the
antibiotic penicillin that kills bacteria.
Another example is the alleopathy in
plants wherein one plant produces
chemical inhibitors which prevent the
growth of other plants like the
inhibitory effect of pigweed on clover.

33. UNANNOUNCED QUIZ

34. 1. Which of the following does not
describe biotic factors?
a. Living things
b. Moth and caterpillar
c. Grass and bushes
d. Rocks and soil

35. 2. What is abiotic factor?
a. Fungi and algae
b. Sun and moon
c. Wind and water
d. Soil and rock

36. 3. Which of the following does not
belong to the group of biotic factors?
a. Salt
b. Abalone
c. See grass
d. Corals

37. 4. Which of the following does not show effects
of abiotic factors on the ecosystem?
a. A sun gives of energy to the plants to grow
b. Melting of icebergs in the north pole affects
sea lions
c. A sun makes ice melt
d. Jay drinks a lot of water to prevent
dehydration

38. 5. Which of the following situation shows a
negative effect of abiotic factor to biotic factor?
a. Water makes up 70% of our body
b. Sun helps plants to grow
c. Increase in temperature leads some animals
to death
d. Minerals are processed to make jewelries

39. Write PAK if the statement about the ecosystem is True and
GANERN if False.
6. Mutualism is an ecological relationship were both
organism benefits from each other.
7. A child suffering from lice in her head is an example of
commensalism.
8. An orchid in a tree shows that one benefits but it does
not harm the other.
9. A coral reef and a clown fish is an example of
commensalism.
10. Soil is an example of biotic factors.

40. List down at least 2 example of ecological
relationship and describe each you may also
give your own example that you observed in
an ecosystem.
11 – 15.