BIOTIC AND

ABIOTIC
COMPONENTS OF
AN ECOSYSTEM
ECOSYSTEM
- A SYSTEM FORMED BY THE
INTERACTION OF LIVING
ORGANISMS WITH ONE ANOTHER
AND WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS
- IT COMPRISES THE LIVING PART OF THE
ENVIRONMENT, WHICH INCLUDES THE
ASSOCIATION OF A NUMBER OF INTERRELATED
POPULATIONS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT
SPECIES IN A COMMON ENVIRONMENT.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS INCLUDE:
• PRODUCERS (AUTOTROPHS)
 ORGANISMS THAT CAN MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD BY COVERTING THE ENRGY FROM THE SUN INTO FOOD. EXAMPLE:
PLANTS
 PRODUCERS ARE CALLED ENERGY TRANSDUCERS. THEY CONVERT SOLAR ENERGY INTO CHEMICAL ENERGY, WITH THE
HELP OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC SUBSTANCES.
 THE PRODUCERS ARE CALLED AS AUTOTROPHIC (AUTO = SELF; TROPH = NOURISHING) ORGANISMS, THESE ARE
ORGANISMS THAT CAN MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD.
 THEY ARE CAPABLE OF SYNTHESIZING FOOD FROM NON-LIVING INORGANIC COMPOUNDS.
 THEY ARE LARGELY REPRESENTED BY GREEN PLANTS ON LAND (TREES, GRASSES, CROPS) AND PHYTOPLANKTON’S ON
WATER.
•CONSUMERS (HETEROTROPHS)
 ORGANISMS THAT CANNOT MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD; THEY DEPEND UPON PRODUCERS FOR FOOD. EXAMPLE: ANIMALS

 CONSUMERS ARE THE ORGANISMS THAT FEED ON OTHER ORGANISMS TO SURVIVE. THEY CONSUME THE FOOD
MATERIALS PREPARED BY THE PRODUCERS (AUTOTROPHS). HENCE, CONSUMERS ARE CALLED AS HETEROTROPHIC
ORGANISMS.

 DEPENDING UPON THEIR FOOD HABITS, CONSUMERS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARY
CONSUMERS.

 THE PRIMARY CONSUMERS SOLELY FEED ON PLANTS. HERBIVORES ARE PLANT EATERS - GRASSHOPPER, RABBIT,
GOAT, SHEEP – THESE ANIMALS ARE PRIMARY CONSUMERS.

 THE SECONDARY CONSUMERS FEED ON SOME PRIMARY CONSUMERS.

 THEY ARE ALSO CALLED AS MICRO CONSUMERS. THEY DEPEND ON DEAD ORGANIC MATTER FOR
THEIR FOOD. THEY ARE CHIEFLY MICROORGANISMS LIKE BACTERIA AND FUNGI. THEY BREAK THE
COMPLEX ORGANIC MATTER FOUND IN PLANT AND ANIMAL BODIES, AND RELEASE SIMPLE
SUBSTANCES. THESE SUBSTANCES WILL BE USED BY AUTOTROPHS ONCE AGAIN.

 EARTHWORMS USE THIS DEAD ORGANIC MATTER FOR THEIR FOOD. THEY ARE CALLED AS
SECONDARY DECOMPOSER.
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS
- ARE NON-LIVING THINGS WHICH
HAVE IMPORATNT ROLES IN THE
SURVIVAL OF THE LIVING ORGANISM
IN AN ECOSYSTEM.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ABIOTIC COMPONENTS:

WATER
 WATER IS LIFE.
 ALL LIVING THINGS NEED WATER.
 50% OF MOST LIVING THING IS COMPOSED OF WATER.
 IT IS CONSIDERED AS UNIVERSAL SOLVENT SINCE IT
DISSOLVES OTHER SUBSTANCES.
 IT CARRIES NUTRIENTS TO CELLS AND WASTES AWAY
FROM THEM.
SUNLIGHT
 IT IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY ON EARTH.
 IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE PROCESS OF
PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
 ANIMALS ANG PLANTS COULD NOT SURVIVE
WITHOUT THE SUN.
 IT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE
PRODUCTION OF OXYGEN AND TO AN AREA’S
TEMPERATURE.
AIR
 HUMANS, PLANTS AND ANIMALS WILL
NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE WITHOUT AIR.
 IT IS A MIXTURE OF CLEAR GASES LIKE
OXYGEN GAS (O2), CARBON DIOXIDE
(CO2), NITROGEN GAS (N2), HYDROGEN
GAS (H2) AND ETC. THAT WE BREATHE.
SOIL
 IT IS MADE UP OF SMALL PARTICLES OF ROCK
MIXED WITH DECOMPOSED LIVING THINGS LIKE
ANIMALS.
 IT IS WHERE THE PLANTS GET THEIR WATER AND
NUTRIENTS FOR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
 ITS COMPOSITION VARIES FROM ONE PLACE TO
ANOTHER.
TEMPERATURE
 IT IS AN ABIOTIC FACTOR WHICH IS INFLUENCED
BY THE SUNLIGHT.
 IT VARIES FROM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER.
 ALL PLANTS AND ANIMALS SURVIVE BETWEEN A
MINIMUM OR MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF
TEMPERATURE E.G. A POLAR BEAR CANNOT LIVE
IN A DESSERT.
 INFLUENCES WHICH PLANTS OR ANIMALS CAN
LIVE IN AN AREA.
 EFFECT OF CHANGES IN THE ABIOTIC
FACTORS ON THE ECOSYSTEM
AIR POLLUTION
AIR IS AN INVISIBLE MIXTURE OF GASES (SUCH AS NITROGEN AND OXYGEN) THAT SURROUNDS THE EARTH. WITHOUT
AIR, PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND HUMANS WILL NOT SURVIVE. HOWEVER, AS TIME GOES BY, THE QUALITY OF AIR CHANGES,
DUE TO THE INCREASING POPULATION, VEHICLES, GROWING NUMBER OF FACTORIES AND ESTABLISHMENTS,
CONTINUOUS BURNING OF PLASTICS AND OTHER GARBAGE, RESULTING TO POLLUTION. AIR POLLUTION IS THE
INTRODUCTION OF MATERIALS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE THAT PRODUCES ADVERSE EFFECTS ESPECIALLY TO HUMANS
AND THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES.
SOIL POLLUTION
SOIL IS THE BASIC MEDIUM FOR LAND BASE ECOSYSTEM WHERE PLANTS GROW AND SOME ORGANISMS LIVE. IT
PROVIDES PLANT WITH ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS, MINERALS, AND HUMUS FROM DECAYED PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
HUMAN ACTIVITY IS THE NUMBER ONE CONTRIBUTING FACTOR LIKE THROWING AND BURNING PLASTIC CONTAINING
GARBAGE, POLLUTE THE SOIL BY MAKING IT ACIDIC. THE SOIL AND THE PLASTICS CONTAIN COMPOUNDS LIKE
NITRATES (NO3), PHOSPHATES (PO4) AND POTASSIUM (K). WHEN THERE IS OVERPRODUCTION OF THESE
COMPOUNDS, THE SOIL BECOMES ACIDIC. ALSO, BURNING OF WOODS AND GRASSES LOSS THE ORGANIC MATTER
(TOPSOIL), MAKING THE SOIL DRY AND NOT SUITABLE FOR PLANTING.
EXTREME ATMOSPHERIC HEAT
SUN IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY. BUT, WHEN THERE IS TOO MUCH HEAT COMING FROM THE SUN,
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS? WITHOUT SUNLIGHT ALSO, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE
LIVING ORGANISMS? HUMANS HAVE BECOME THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF CHANGE. THE ACT OF CUTTING
DOWN OR BURNING OF TREES (DEFORESTATION), DUMPING OF WASTE MATERIALS ANYWHERE, USING
PLASTIC PRODUCTS OVER REUSABLE MATERIALS, AND OVER POPULATION ARE PRACTICES OF MAN WHICH
CAUSES AN EXTREME ATMOSPHERIC HEAT.
DEATH TO LIVING ORGANISMS
AN INCREASE OR DECREASE OF THE TEMPERATURE HAS AN IMPACT ON ORGANISMS
LIVING ON EARTH. DESPITE HAVING ADAPTIVE ABILITIES TO SUIT WITH THE KIND OF
ECOSYSTEMS ORGANISMS ARE DWELLING, A CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE LIMITS
REPRODUCTION AND SURVIVAL RATE. THEREFORE, ORGANISMS MUST COPE WITH THE
CHANGE IN TEMPERATURE IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.
WATER POLLUTION
THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO LIFE ON EARTH, HOWEVER, WHEN THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY CHANGES DUE TO
NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISTURBANCES, GREATER PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN PRODUCED, SUCH AS:
1. DISEASES FROM INFECTIOUS ORGANISMS CARRIED BY THE WATER LIKE CHOLERA, DYSENTERY, AND
AMOEBIASIS;
2. GROWTH OF PLANKTON (SMALL PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE IN BODIES OF WATER LIKE SEAS AND LAKES),
RESULTING TO LESS DISSOLVED OXYGEN WHICH MAY THREATENED THE WATER ORGANISMS;
3. TOXIC CHEMICALS ARE CARRIED BY THE WATER MAKING IT HARMFUL FOR BOTH BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC
ORGANISMS IN THE WATER.
REVIEW
BIOTIC OR ABIOTIC?
PRODUCER OR CONSUMER?
DECOMPOSER OR CONSUMER?

BACTERI
A
BIOTIC OR ABIOTIC?
PRODUCER OR CONSUMER?
THANK YOU AND SEE YOU
NEXT MEETING. GOD
BLESS!!!