What are Biotic Factors - More Grades 5-8 Science on Harmony Square

Biotic components, or biotic factors, can be described as any living component that affects another organism or shapes the ecosystem. This includes both animals that consume other organisms within their ecosystem, and the organism that is being consumed. Biotic factors also include human influence, pathogens, and disease outbreaks. Each biotic factor needs the proper amount of energy and nutrition to function day to day.

Biotic components are typically sorted into three main categories:

Producers, otherwise known as autotrophs, convert energy (through the process of photosynthesis) into food.

Consumers, otherwise known as heterotrophs, depend upon producers (and occasionally other consumers) for food.

Decomposers, otherwise known as detritivores, break down chemicals from producers and consumers (usually antibiotic) into simpler form which can be reused.

Nearly all species are influenced by biotic factors in one way or another. If the number of predators was to increase, the entire food chain would be affected as any prey falling below that specified predator in the food chain will become prey. If the prey is not given enough time by the predator to repopulate, this could not only cause endangerment and extinction in the prey, but the predator as well. Contradicting a decrease in population size, if a particular species reproduces too rapidly, this will cause an increase in population size, thus affecting the environment around them.

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one-another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and other microbes.

Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. Unlike external factors, internal factors are controlled, for example, decomposition, root competition, shading, disturbance, succession, and the types of species present.

Ecosystems are dynamic entities—they are subject to periodic disturbances and are in the process of recovering from some past disturbance. Ecosystems in similar environments that are located in different parts of the world can end up doing things very differently simply because they have different pools of species present. Internal factors not only control ecosystem processes but are also controlled by them and are often subject to feedback loops.