What is the difference between biotic and abiotic things

It has been seen that both of them have their own specialty and uniqueness which is considered to be an important factor for the existence of a sustainable ecosystem. Abiotic components are the necessity of biotic components and vice versa.

It has been seen that both of them are interrelated to each other for examples plants and human beings can not survive without sunlight and water, similarly, it is seen that abiotic components are useless without the biotic components and they will have no meaning to it.

If looking into the difference between biotic and abiotic it can be concluded that both of them are entirely different from each other but a proper ecosystem can not be formed without the two major components that are the biotic as well as abiotic components. Skip to content Biotic and abiotic are the two main components of an ecosystem that are responsible for the proper functioning of the ecosystem and environment.

Page Contents 0. If we look into the definition of biotic in the ecosystem, it is nothing but all the living organisms surviving on the ecosystem. Abiotic are basically those things that are non-living but plays an important role in the ecosystem without which the ecosystem would not be complete. In the biotic category, we generally see that they help in forming a cycle in the ecosystem by producing and reproducing and gradually building up the cycle. The abiotic factors generally help in developing the cycle of the ecosystem in external terms for example sunlight is the basic requirement for plants during photosynthesis.

They affect the environment in their own ways through interactions with other organisms and through their interactions with abiotic factors. For example, earthworms affect the soil, which is an abiotic component if you don't include the microorganisms living in the soil. Biotic factors are dependent on abiotic factors. Light and heat energy from the sun are the main key components that biota depend on. As heat and light energy are used to form biotic components, entropy increases due to the one directional flow of energy.

What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors? Kate M. Sep 30, Biotic factors are living whereas abiotic factors are non-living. Examples of biotic factors are animals, birds , plants, fungi, and other similar organisms.

Biotic components are living organisms in an ecosystem. A biotic factor is a living organism that affects another organism in its ecosystem.

Examples include plants and animals that the organism consumes as food, and animals that consume the organism. The following video covers the biotic and abiotic factors that influence most ecosystems, and introduces key vocabulary relevant to ecology:. This is a good SlideShare presentation that covers the definition and examples of biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem:.

The scope of abiotic and biotic factors spans across the entire biosphere, or global sum of all ecosystems. Such factors can have relevance for an individual within a species, its community or an entire population.

For instance, disease is a biotic factor affecting the survival of an individual and its community. Temperature is an abiotic factor with the same relevance. Some factors have greater relevance for an entire ecosystem. Abiotic and biotic factors combine to create a system or, more precisely, an ecosystem, meaning a community of living and nonliving things considered as a unit.

In this case, abiotic factors span as far as the pH of the soil and water, types of nutrients available and even the length of the day. Biotic factors such as the presence of autotrophs or self-nourishing organisms such as plants , and the diversity of consumers also affect an entire ecosystem.

Abiotic factors affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce. Abiotic limiting factors restrict the growth of populations.

They help determine the types and numbers of organisms able to exist within an environment. Biotic factors are living things that directly or indirectly affect organisms within an environment. This includes the organisms themselves, other organisms, interactions between living organisms and even their waste.