Abiotic vs Biotic Factors

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Ecology Noun

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[ee-kol-uh-jee]

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Ecology

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The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their relationships with the surrounding physical environment.

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Example: This diagram shows how energy from the sun (an abiotic factor) flows through an ecosystem's living things, or biotic factors (plants, animals, and decomposers).

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Ecosystem Noun

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[ee-koh-sis-tuhm]

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Ecosystem

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A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment functioning together as a single unit.

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Example: This chart separates parts of an ecosystem into two groups: biotic factors, which are all the living or once-living parts, and abiotic factors, which are the non-living parts.

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Biotic Factor Noun

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[bahy-ot-ik fak-ter]

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Biotic Factor

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Any living or once-living component that affects another organism or shapes the ecosystem, including animals and plants.

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Example: This image shows six different categories of living organisms—Archaea, Bacteria, Protists, Animals, Plants, and Fungi—which are all examples of biotic factors in an ecosystem.

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Abiotic Factor Noun

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[ey-bahy-ot-ik fak-ter]

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Abiotic Factor

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A nonliving chemical or physical part of the environment that affects living organisms and ecosystem functioning.

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Example: This image uses the letters of the word 'ABIOTIC' to show examples of non-living factors, such as water, rock, sunlight, and temperature.

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Organism Noun

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[awr-guh-niz-uhm]

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Organism

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An individual living entity, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or single-celled life form.

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Example: This image shows an amoeba, a single-celled living thing. An organism is any individual living being, which is a biotic (living) factor in an ecosystem.

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Competition Noun

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[kom-pi-tish-uhn]

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Competition

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An interaction between organisms or species in which both are harmed by their shared need for limited resources.

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Example: This image compares competition within a species (intraspecific) and between different species (interspecific) for resources like food, water, and mates, which are biotic interactions.

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Predator Noun

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[pred-uh-ter]

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Predator

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An organism that primarily obtains food by the killing and consuming of other organisms for its energy.

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Example: A predator is a living (biotic) organism that hunts other living organisms for energy. In this food chain, the fox is a predator to the rabbit.

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Prey Noun

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[prey]

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Prey

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An animal that is hunted and killed for food by another animal, known as a predator.

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Example: In this food chain, the arrows show energy flow. An animal that is hunted and eaten by another, like the mouse being eaten by the owl, is prey.

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Microorganism Noun

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[mahy-kroh-awr-guh-niz-uhm]

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Microorganism

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A microscopic living organism, such as a bacterium, virus, or fungus, which may exist in single-celled form.

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Example: This image shows different types of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which are all examples of living (biotic) factors in an ecosystem.

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Disease Noun

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[dih-zeez]

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Disease

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A particular abnormal condition or disorder of a structure or function that affects part or all of an organism.

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Example: This image shows a tomato plant affected by a disease, an example of how a living organism (a biotic factor like a fungus) can harm another.