Abiotic means non-living, so abiotic factors are non-living things that are still in an ecosystem. An example of abiotic factors in an environment would be rocks, litter, or water. However things like temperature and water density are also considered abiotic factors.
A biotic factor of an environment is the exact opposite of abiotic. It is any living organism. An few examples would be trees, seals, and of course, sharks.
How do humans affect these factors?
Humans affect ecosystems in many different ways. For more information, click here.
Cultural and economic factors influence how humans affect the biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem. One example of a cultural factor would be the finning of sharks for shark fin soup. Because it is important in asian cultures, it is a very sought after dish. An economic factor would be finning of sharks for shark fin soup due to the rising demand for it (because all though it is considered a delicacy, now more and more people can afford it). This in turn is killing sharks because their fins are used as a main ingredient in the soup. This is how a cultural and economic factor can affect biotic life. However how does it affect abiotic factors? Because more and more boats are being taken out to fish for sharks, the water is becoming more and more polluted. This is damaging not only living organisms in the ocean, but is also having affects on abiotic factors. The greenhouse gases that are burned for the ships fuel are increasing the temperature, and the waste that is coming from the boat is decreasing water clarity and increasing the amount of litter.
How abiotic factors of an environment affect biotic factors
Abiotic factors and biotic factors are very closely related. In fact, many abiotic factors affect biotic factors.
Abiotic factors, as stated above, are non living factors of an environment. Some of these include water clarity, temperature, salinity, tides, the amount of dissolved oxygen, and the amount of light.
Here is a short list of how these affect an environment:
Water clarity- If the water is not clear enough, the sunlight can't get to the plants and they will die because they will not be able to use photosynthesis to feed themselves.
Temperature- If the water is too cold, the fish would not be able to adapt and they would die.
Salinity- If there is too much salt in the water, the fish's cells will not be able to take it and the fish will die.
Tides- If there are no tides, fresh water containing organisms that are used as food is not being brought in, so the fish do not have enough to eat.
Dissolved Oxygen- If there is not enough oxygen in the water, the fish and other organisms will not be able to breathe.
Amount of light- If there is more sunlight, there will be more plant growth which will then release more nitrates (nutrients) into the water.
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