Limiting Factors in an Ecosystem

Limiting Factors in an ecosystemAny biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the number or production of organisms is a limiting factor.

Take this ecosystem found in the fishbowl
The limiting factors would be the size of the bowl, amount of water, will limit the number of fish that can survive in the fishbowl

Limiting factors can be dependent limiting factors and independent factors

Dependent limiting factors depend on the number of organisms
For example, the amount of food available for each organism depends on the number of organisms
An independent limiting factors does not depend on the number of organisms.
For example, the amount of rainfall does not depend on the number of organisms

You also have

Density-Dependent Factors
A limiting factor that depends on population size is called a density-dependent limiting factor.

Density-dependent limiting factors include:
• competition
• predation
• parasitism
• disease

Here is a list of abiotic limiting factors
Sunlight
Climate
Temperature
Water
Space
Soil chemistry
Fire
Natural disasters


Biotic factors limiting factors
Number of plants
Number animals
Amount of competition
Number of decomposers
parasites
Disease causing agents