INTERACTIONS IN

ECOSYSTEMS
BETWEEN BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS
 INTRODUCTION

An ecosystem includes all the living organisms (biotic factors) that

interact with one another and also the physical and non physical
factors present.
A system is considered to be dynamic when it can recover from
changes and return to its original state.
An ecosystem can be in equilibrium when all organisms are in balance
with their environment and each other. In equilibrium any small
changes to the system will be balanced by negative feedback allowing
the system to return to its original state.
 BIOTIC & ABIOTIC FACTORS

Within an ecosystem there are important abiotic factors such as :

Climatic Factors; light, temperature, water availability, wind
Edaphic factors; soil, texture, nutrient status, acidity and moisture
Topographic factors; the surface features of the land
These factors interact with each other and with living organisms present.
Abiotic factors play an important role in determining which organisms can
survive within a habitat . The surviving organisms are well adapted to the
environmental conditions experienced there. Changes in Abiotic factors
encourage the process of natural selection among the organism.
 Environmental factors (both biotic and abiotic factors) affect the
organism and the environment as well.
No organism exists in isolation; each exists in the context of a range of
a range of environmental factors Some of the factors which affects an
organism includes;
ABIOTIC FACTORS: BIOTIC FACTORS;
Wind Human
Atmospheric gas Competitors
Fire Predators
Solar radiation Parasites
 temperature
relative humidity
Day length
soil and water chemistry
salinity
wave action.
NUTRIENT CYCLING & ENERGY FLOW

Through the interactions among Biotic and abiotic factors,ecosystems

can function by facilitating nutrient cycling and energy flow among
organisms. This is because ecosystems offer Ecological niches for
organisms to fill which encourage nutrient cycling. The ecological niche
of an organism includes its role in a community as well as its position
in the food chain. Nutrient cycling ensures that the finite amount of
nutrients in the biosphere is not exhausted because if they are life will
not be able to thrive. Organisms such as decomposers liberate
nutrients present within the corpses of organisms, urine and faeces.
Organisms also establish feeding relationships among themselves to
gain food. These feeding relationships enable energy to flow within an
ecosystem.
Nitrogen cycle and nutrient cycling
Food chain and energy flow
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BIOTIC
FACTORS
An ecosystem is a dynamic and complex whole, interacting as a unit.
Energy and matter flows between the components of an ecosystem. The
organisms in an ecosystem are usually well balanced with each other and
with their environment. This balance is achieved through various
interactions such as predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism, and
commensalism. The needs of the organisms, including food, water, and
shelter, are met by other organisms and by nonliving factors in their
ecosystems
Biotic factors affect populations of organisms. This is a term that is used in
the study of ecology. The word root "bio-" means life, therefore a biotic
factor is any activity of a living organism that affects another living
organism within its environment. Biotic factors within a community can
affect the populations of organisms but are also essential to the balance of
life within the ecosystem.
What are Mutualism
Relationships?

Mutualism relationships are characterized by positive reciprocal

relationship between two species for survival. There can be many
reasons for two species to get in to mutual relationships. The alliance
may benefit them in the form of food, shelter, defense, transport,
pollination, nutrition, or any other mutual need etc. There are two
types of mutualism relationships:
1. 1. Symbiotic relationship, which is an obligate relationship, where the
two species live in close proximity and at least one of the species need
to contribute in order to survive. An example of obligate mutualism is
the relationship between ants and the Acacia plant.
2. In non symbiotic relationships (facultative relationships), the two
species may not live together or may not be dependent of each other,
but they come together at times for certain mutual benefits. For example,
birds and flower plants. Birds come to the plants for flower juices or to eat
other organisms and in the process, pick up the pollens and spread it
elsewhere. This helps the plant for pollination and provides a greater
opportunity for genetic diversity. Here, birds and flower plants are not
directly dependent on each other, but their occasional alliance benefits
both of them.
Symbiotic relationship- Non-Symbiotic relationship-
Ants and acacia tree Bird feeding on flower juices

Competition relationships

We have observed organisms in communities interact in a competitive

way. The competition is generally observed for acquiring some limiting
a biotic factor in the environment. Individuals of species in a population
are continually competing with each other for food, water, light,
minerals, shelter, a mate and breeding sites. They compete with not
only members of other species (interspecific competition) but also with
members of their own species (intraspecific competition). Where two
species occupy the same ecological niche, the interspecific competition
lead to extinction of one or the other-the competitive exclusion
principle. It states that only one species (population) in a given
community can occupy a given ecological niche at any one time.
Deer competing for a
mate Plants competing for
light

Leopards competing for

food
Interference competition
Occurs when organisms actively fight over a resource. An example of
this can be seen between the ant Novomessor cockerelliand
red harvester ants, where the former interferes with the ability of the
latter to forage by plugging the entrances to theircolonieswith small
rocks.
Exploitation competition
Occurs when one organism takes up the resource, passively preventing
others from gaining access to it.
Also known as exploitative competition
 Apparent competition
Occurs indirectlybetween two species which are both preyed upon by
the same predator. For example, species A and species B are both prey
of predator C. The increase of species A may cause the decrease of
species B, because the increase of As may aid in the survival of
predator Cs, which will increase the number of predator Cs, which in
turn will hunt more of species B.
Resource Partitioning: Species that share the same habitat and
have similar needs frequently use resources in somewhat different
ways - so that they do not come into direct competition for at least
part of the limiting resource.
 Temporal resource partitioning: occurs when two species eliminate direct
competition by utilizing the same resource at different times. An example include
one species ofspiny mousefeeds on insects during the day while a second species
of spiny mouse feeds on the same insects at night.
Spatial resource partitioning: occurs when two competing species use the
same resource by occupying different areas or habitats within the range of
occurrence of the resource.An example would be different species of fish feeding
at different depths in a lake.
The final type of differential resource utilization is morphological differentiation or
niche complementarity. Morphological differentiation happens when two
competing species evolve differing morphologies to allow them to use a resource
in different ways. An example include different lengths of bumble bee proboscis
would allow them to feed on different lengths corolla plants.
Commensalism relationships

Commensalism is a symbiosis in which one partner benefits but the other

gains nothing (nor loses anything) from the association. The grape vinethat
you observed climbing a partner tree is mostly a commensalism. The grape
vine benefits from the tree's support to grow into the canopy from the forest
floor. The tree gets virtually nothing out of this, nor do grape vines cause
much harm to the trees. The commensalthe species that benefits from the
associationmay obtainnutrients, shelter, support, orlocomotionfrom the
hostspecies, which is unaffected. The commensal relation is often between a
larger host and a smaller commensal. The host organism is essentially
unchanged by the interaction, whereas the commensal species may show
great morphological adaptation. This relationship can be contrasted with
mutualism, in which both species benefit. An example of a commensal is the
remora which eats leftovers from the sharks meals.
Remora and Shark
Parasitism relationships

Occurs when a smaller organism feeds on a larger, weakening or killing it.

This is a relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed.
Often the host is not killed outright. Because a parasite lives in/on the body
of its host and needs the host to remain alive, it is usually advantageous for
the parasite tonotkill its host. Humans and domestic animals are
occasionally infected with or bothered by tapeworms, roundworms,
mosquitoes and/or leeches Parasites may be characterized asectoparasites
includingticks,fleas, leeches, andlicewhich live on the body surface of
the host and do not themselves commonly causediseasein the host; or
endoparasites, which may be eitherintercellular (inhabiting spaces in the
hosts body) orintracellular (inhabiting cells in the hosts body). Intracellular
parasitessuch asbacteriaorvirusesoften rely on a third organism, known
as the carrier, or vector, to transmit them to the host.
 There is brood parasitism where birds deposit their eggs in nest of
other species hoping that the adult birds of other species raise their
young as their own. Another type of parasitism is known as social
parasitism. This is where a parasitizingantspecies depends upon the
labor provided by a host ant species within the context of a mixed-
species colony.
ECTOPARASITES

LEECHES
INTRACELLULAR PARASITES

BACTERIA VIRUSES
Predation relationships

An interaction between two organisms of unlike species in which one

of them acts aspredatorthat captures and feeds on the other
organismthat serves as the prey. Predator-Prey relationships are
important in producing cyclic change in the size of a population, i.e. it
tends to keep the population of both species in balance. As the prey
population increases, there is more food for predators. So, after a slight
lag, the predator population increases as well. As the number of
predators increases, more prey are captured and eaten. As a result,
the prey population starts to decrease.The predator population in turn
diminishes, as some individuals are unable to obtain sufficient food to
 sustain them. This type of cyclic fluctuation plays an important role in
evolution. In this type of relationship the prey population is the limiting
factor. A limiting factor limits the growth or development of an
organism, population, or process.

Predator- Prey Relationship between

leopard (predator) and deer (prey).
Cooperation relationships

Cooperation in ecology is a beneficial but inessential interaction

between two species in a community. It is the process of groups of
organismsworking or acting together for their common/mutual benefit,
as opposed to working incompetitionforselfishbenefit. Manyanimal
andplantspeciescooperate both with other members of their own
species and with members of other species. One specific form of
cooperation in animals is kin selection, which can be defined as
animals helping to rear a relatives offspring in order to enhance their
own fitness (Kin selection).
 Effect of availability of abiotic
factors on the population growth
of biotic factors
Ideal abiotic an biotic conditions allow species to grow. Limiting factors
can exist when biotic or abiotic conditions which are present restrict
the size of the population. Abiotic factors are these factors due to non
living aspects of the environment. E.g. physical structures, availability
of water, temperature and light intensity. The abiotic factors have an
influence on the growth of the species. Within an ecosystem, every
species is able to survive within a range of factors. This is known as the
species tolerance range
GRAPH SHOWING TOLERANCE RANGE OF A BUTTERFLY SPECIES

The influence of abiotic factors on the population growth of

biotic factors can be examined based on two main
ecosystems.
TERRESTRIAL
ECOSYSTEMS
 Light availability:

The plants need light energy to manufacture food by photosynthesis. So

when light is limited photosynthesis will be affected. This is because with
light intensity the angle of the sun rays to the earth is taken into
consideration. Plants and animals of higher latitudes can respond to light
easily than those of lower latitudes. The quality of light is also an
important factor to the plants. This is because the chlorophyll molecules
can only absorb light at certain wavelengths. This can also affect the
population growth of herbivores and other organisms since they would not
be able to attain their food supply and important nutrients.
In terrestrial ecosystems plants use strategies such as growing tall to
obtain light and animals climb to obtain light.
Water availability:

-Water can be surface water, ground water and the water table
(underground layer saturated with water). Water is also precipitated and
used in a continuous cycle, the water cycle. Rapid drainage, low rainfall
and high evaporation can lead to dry soils and the opposite leads to
water logging. Hence, this makes water a limiting factor in terrestrial
ecosystems. The tolerances of water for plants can be classified into
xerophytes (high tolerance), mesophytes (medium tolerance) and
hydrophytes (low tolerance). Plants and animals need water to survive.
Hence when the water level decreases, the plants and animals population
may begin to decrease. Some plants can adapt to dry conditions by
obtaining water from the water table. The leaves of most xerophytes are
adapted to prevent water loss through a thick waxy cuticle.
Temperature

a given organism will survive only within a certain temperature range

for which it is metabolically and structurally adapted. Temperature
therefore can affect the blooming of plants, and can cause animals to
migrate when the temperature levels increase to an amount that is not
favorable for that particular species. For example, metabolically, if the
temperature is too high proteins become denatured. The temperature
would be determined by the season, the time of day and the slope or
location of the ecosystem.
Atmosphere:

: In the atmosphere, many gases including pollutants are present. This

therefore can have a major effect on the survival of the organisms.
Sulphur dioxide for example can damage leaf structures and flowering
structures. Also, in the atmosphere, the wind is taken into
consideration. The wind is important for increasing transpiration and
evaporation under low humidity. Hence, when it is limited plants are
affected. Non motile plants such as fungi and bacteria also depend on
the wind for the continuity of their species through h seed dispersal.
Topography:

this factor is usually combined with other abiotic factors such as

temperature and light availability, wind and other factors. For example
higher altitudes are associated with higher precipitation, higher
temperatures, increased wind speed and more intense radiation. All of
these play a major role on the population growth of the organisms.
Another topographic factor is the aspect. The northern hemisphere
receives more sunlight the southern hemisphere therefore the light
intensities would vary. The third topographic factor is the steepness of
the slope or the gradient. Steep slopes suffer from fast drainage and
run-off and the soils are therefore thinner and dryer so there are
mostly xeromorphic plants.
Soils:

There are four main factors to be examined with soils.

i) Mineral matter of the soil: in the soil there are mineral fragments of
varying size such as gravel stones, and fine earth. The fine earth
composes of clays silts and sand. These factors determine the soil
texture. Soil texture influences drainage and nutrient retention. For
example, sandy soils are faster at losing nutrients and drainage but it
is advantageous at obtaining early crops as the surface dries more
rapidly than clay soil.
ii) The organic matter in the soils: nutrients such as nitrogen, sulfur
and phosphorous are obtained through the soils. The organic matter in
the soil increases the water holding capacity of the soil, and it is a
source of energy and materials for microorganisms.
 Humus in the soil is important for the physical, chemical and biological
processes that occur in the soils. Earthworms feed on dissolved organic
matter and since the travel up and down in the soil they act as a
mixing agent in the soil. Earthworms also open up channels for air and
water to help improve soil texture.
iii) The soil air: the soil air contains carbon dioxide and water vapor
which are important for growth and nutrient formation of plants.
iv) The soil solution or water in the soil: the soil solution contains
dissolved chemicals. It contains minerals which are important for the
processes carried out by the plants.
 -Light availability: light quality can be a limiting factor in aquatic
ecosystems. For example, some seaweeds such as red algae have different
light intercepting pigments and can survive in locations whereas green
algae would not. This is because the blue and red light that is needed does
not penetrate deep into the water and it is needed by the algae.
-Temperature: temperature is not a limiting factor for aquatic ecosystems
since their undergo less extreme temperature changes due to the high
heat capacity of water.
-Water Quality: the amount of dissolved oxygen in the aquatic system is
important for plants and animals to respire and perform other processes.
Hence, if oxygen is limited the organism becomes affected.
 Salinity or salt concentration: as the salinity increases, plants find
it extremely difficult to extract water from the soils. High levels of sat
can create imbalance so some animals cannot get the sufficient
nutrients in high salinity levels. Some of the organisms may even die in
high salt concentrations. The death of these sensitive organism can
disrupt the food chains within the aquatic ecosystem. Salinity is also
important in aquatic ecosystems since it measures the difference
between freshwater and marine species. Species in aquatic
ecosystems have a salinity tolerance, hence some fish can live in both
freshwater and salt water but others cannot.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.hawii.eduwww.mnh.si.edu
www.ck12.org
www.mnh.si.edu
www.salcomp.cafiles/Ecosystems
-www.environment.nsw.government.au/salinity
-schoolworkhelper.net/biotic-and-abiotic-factors
-www.ecoearth.org
INTERACTIONS
WITHIN
ECOSYSTEMS
DONE BY :
Kerneilla Joyeux
Miguel Samuel
Britney Eugene

All Rights Reserved