Abiotic Factors Affect Ecosystems

1. Abiotic Factors Affect Ecosystems The animals that live in an ecosystem rely on the abiotic factors in that ecosystem. These factors help determine the ways the animals look, the ways they behave and the adaptations they have to their environment.

2. Limiting Factors of an Ecosystem • Limiting factors are abiotic factors that limit the amount of organisms that live in that particular ecosystem. • For example a desert is going to have a limited amount of organisms compared to a rainforest due to the lack of water. The following are the most important abiotic factors that affect an ecosystem. • Water • Sunlight • Temperature • Soil Composition

3. Limited Fresh Water • Water is one of the most important factors for an ecosystems ability to sustain life. • All organisms need water to survive. • Only animals with special adaptations can survive in environments with little fresh water. The less fresh water in a place, the less animals will survive there. • Examples • Rainforests receive fresh water everyday and a large number of organisms live there. • Deserts receive very little rainfall so much fewer organisms live there compared to areas that receive a lot of rain.

4. Limited Sunlight • The amount of sunlight a place receives has a large affect on the amount of life that lives there. • A great deal of insolation (amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the earth) throughout the year means that the environment will be warmer. • A good amount of sunlight also means there will be plenty of energy available for plants to grow and therefore lots of energy for animals in that ecosystem. • Examples: • Tropical Forests receive a lot of sunlight. So they are warm and contain a huge amount of plants and animals. • The Tundra receives much less sunlight throughout the year. It is much colder and has fewer plants and animals.

5. Limited Temperature • Temperature affects the amount of organisms that live in an area because many organisms cannot survive in frigid conditions. • Only organisms with special adaptations to the cold can live in freezing places. • Colder places have a fewer variety of animals living there. • Examples: • Deciduous trees lose their leaves when it is very cold. Conifer trees have needles that can survive in freezing weather. Polar Bears have thick layers of fat to survive on the arctic tundra.

6. Soil Composition • Soil contains nutrients for plants to eat. • Environments with poor soil do not sustain as much life as places with a lot of nutrients. • Examples: • The Tundra and Deserts have poor soil and sustain less plants and animals. • Forests contain good soil and support a large amount of life.

7. Identify What Factors Affect Each Ecosystem. • Tundra • Rainforest • Arctic Ocean • Coral Reef • Coniferous Forest • Tropical Forest • Tropical Desert

8. Important Questions to Study • Are you able to define the term limiting factor. • Are you able to list the 4 main limiting factors that affect an ecosystem. • Are you able to describe how certain limiting factors affect specific ecosystems.