Biotic and abiotic factors

• What are the two main types of factors affecting a community?

  Biotic and abiotic factors
• What are biotic factors?

  Living parts of an environment
• What are abiotic factors?

  Nonliving parts of an environment
• What are the four different biotic factors mentioned?

  1. Availability of food
  2. Arrival of a new predator
  3. Competition between species
  4. New pathogens
• How does the availability of food affect a community?

  If food availability falls, organisms decrease
• What effect does a new predator have on prey species?

  It can cause the prey population to fall
• What happens if a species is outcompeted?

  Its population may fall and become extinct
• What is the impact of new pathogens on a species?

  They can wipe out a population
• What are the seven different abiotic factors mentioned?

  1. Light intensity
  2. Temperature
  3. Water
  4. pH of soil
  5. Mineral content of soil
  6. Wind intensity and direction
  7. Gases (carbon dioxide and oxygen)
• How does light intensity affect plants?

  Low light reduces photosynthesis rate
• What happens if the temperature of an environment changes?

  Species distribution may change
• Why is water an important abiotic factor?

  Both plants and animals need water to survive
• What is the effect of soil pH on plants?

  Many plants can't grow in extreme pH
• Why do plants need certain minerals in the soil?

  To make amino acids for proteins
• How does wind intensity affect plants?

  Strong winds can cause water loss
• What role does carbon dioxide play for plants?

  It is needed for photosynthesis
• Why is oxygen important for organisms?

  It is needed for aerobic respiration
• What can happen to dissolved oxygen levels in water on hot days?

  They can fall, harming aquatic organisms
• Where can students find questions on biotic and abiotic factors?

  In the vision workbook linked in the video