Constantly evolving, humanity does not particularly think about how abiotic factors directly or indirectly influence humans. What are abiotic conditions and why is their seemingly subtle influence so important to consider? These are certain physical phenomena that are not related to living nature, which have one way or another impact on human life or environment. Roughly speaking, light, the degree of humidity, the Earth’s magnetic field, temperature, the air we breathe - all these parameters are called abiotic. This definition does not in any way include the influence of living organisms, including bacteria, microorganisms and even protozoa.
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Examples and types
We have already found out that this is a set of inanimate natural phenomena that can be climatic, water or soil. The classification of abiotic factors is conventionally divided into three types:
- Chemical,
- Physical,
- Mechanical.
The chemical influence is exerted by the organic and mineral composition of the soil, atmospheric air, ground and other waters. Physical factors include natural light, pressure, temperature and humidity of the environment. Accordingly, cyclones, solar activity, soil, air and water movement in nature are considered mechanical factors. The combination of all these parameters has a tremendous impact on the reproduction, distribution and quality of life of all living things on our planet. And if modern man thinks that all these phenomena that literally control the life of his ancient ancestors have now been tamed with the help of progressive technologies, then, unfortunately, this is not at all the case in reality.
We must not lose sight of biotic factors and processes that are inevitably tied to the abiotic influence on all living things. Biotic are the forms of influence of living organisms on each other; almost any of them are caused by abiotic environmental factors and their influence on living organisms.
What influence can inanimate factors have?
To begin with, we need to define what falls under the definition of abiotic environmental factors? Which parameters can be included here? Abiotic environmental factors include: light, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric conditions. Let's consider which factor influences how exactly in more detail.
Light
Light is one of the environmental factors that literally every object in geobotany uses. Sunlight is the most important source of thermal energy, responsible in nature for the processes of development, growth, photosynthesis and many, many others.
Light, as an abiotic factor, has a number of specific characteristics: spectral composition, intensity, periodicity. These abiotic conditions are most important for plants, whose main life is the process of photosynthesis. Without a high-quality spectrum and good lighting intensity, the plant world will not be able to actively reproduce and grow fully. The duration of light exposure is also important; for example, with a short daylight hours, plant growth is significantly reduced and reproduction functions are inhibited. It is not for nothing that for good growth and harvest, in greenhouse (artificial) conditions they must create the longest possible photoperiod, which is so necessary for plant life. In such cases, natural biological rhythms are radically and deliberately disrupted. Lighting is the most important natural factor for our planet.
Temperature
Temperature is also one of the most powerful abiotic factors. Without the required temperature regime, life on Earth is truly impossible - and this is not an exaggeration. Moreover, if a person can deliberately maintain the light balance at a certain level, and this is quite simple to do, then the situation with temperature is much more difficult.
Of course, over millions of years of existence on the Planet, both plants and animals have adapted to temperatures that are uncomfortable for them. The thermoregulation processes are different here. For example, in plants there are two methods: physiological, namely, increasing the concentration of cell sap due to the intensive accumulation of sugar in the cells. This process provides the required level of frost resistance of plants, at which they can not die even at very low temperatures. The second method is physical, it consists in the special structure of the foliage or its reduction, as well as growth methods - squat or creeping along the ground - in order to avoid freezing in open space.
Among animals, a distinction is made between eurythermals - those that exist freely with significant temperature fluctuations, and stenothermals, for whose life a certain temperature range of not too large a size is important. Eurythermic organisms exist when the ambient temperature fluctuates within 40-50 degrees, usually these are conditions close to a continental climate. In summer there are high temperatures, in winter there is frost.
A striking example of a eurythermal animal is the hare. In the warm season, it feels comfortable in the heat, and in cold weather, turning into a white hare, it perfectly adapts to the temperature abiotic factors of the environment and their influence on living organisms.
There are many representatives of the fauna - animals, insects, and mammals that have another type of thermoregulation - using a state of torpor. In this case, the metabolism slows down, but body temperature can be maintained at the same level. Example: for a brown bear, an abiotic factor is winter air temperature, and its method of adapting to frost is hibernation.
Air
Abiotic environmental factors also include the air environment. In the process of evolution, living organisms had to master the air habitat after leaving the water on land. Some of them, especially this affected insects and birds, in the process of developing species that move on land, adapted to movement through the air, mastering the technique of flight.
The process of ansmochory - migration of plant species with the help of air currents - should not be excluded - the vast majority of plants populated the territories in which they now grow in this way, through pollination, transfer of seeds by birds, insects, and the like.
If you ask yourself what abiotic factors influence the flora and fauna, then the atmosphere, in terms of its influence, will clearly not be in last place - its role in the process of evolution, development and population size cannot be exaggerated.
However, it is not the air itself that is important, as a parameter that affects nature and organisms, but also its quality, namely its chemical composition. What factors are important in this aspect? There are two of them: oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Oxygen value
Without oxygen, only anaerobic bacteria can exist; other living organisms absolutely need it. The oxygen component of the air environment refers to those types of products that are only consumed, but only green plants are capable of producing oxygen through the method of photosynthesis.
Oxygen, entering the body of a mammal, is bound into a chemical compound by hemoglobin in the blood and in this form is transported with the blood to all cells and organs. This process ensures the normal functioning of any living organism. The influence of the air environment on the life support process is great and continuous throughout life.
Carbon dioxide value
Carbon dioxide is a product exhaled by mammals and some plants; it is also formed during combustion and the activity of soil microorganisms. However, all these natural processes emit such an insignificant amount of carbon dioxide that they cannot even be compared with the real disaster of the ecosystem, which is directly and indirectly related to all natural processes - industrial emissions and waste products of technological processes. And, if just a hundred years ago, a similar problem would mainly be observed in a large industrial city, such as Chelyabinsk, then today it is widespread throughout almost the entire territory of the planet. Nowadays, carbon dioxide, produced everywhere: by enterprises, vehicles, various devices, is persistently expanding its impact group, including the atmosphere.
Humidity
Humidity, as an abiotic factor, is the water content of anything: a plant, air, soil or a living organism. Of the environmental factors, humidity is the primary condition necessary for the origin and development of life on Earth.
Absolutely every living thing on the planet needs water. The mere fact that any living cell consists of eighty percent water speaks for itself. And for many living creatures, the ideal living conditions of the natural environment are bodies of water or a humid climate.
The wettest place on earth is Ureka (Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea) Of course, there are also types of areas where the amount of water is minimal or is present with some periodicity, these are deserts, high mountainous terrain, and similar areas. This has an obvious impact on nature: the absence or minimum of vegetation, drying out soil, no fruit-bearing plants, only those types of flora and fauna survive that have been able to adapt to such conditions. Fitness, no matter to what extent it is expressed, is not lifelong and, in the case when the characteristics of abiotic factors change for some reason, may also change or disappear altogether.
In terms of the degree of influence on nature, humidity is important to take into account not only as a single parameter, but also in combination with each of the listed factors, since together they form the type of climate. Each specific territory with its own abiotic environmental factors has its own characteristics, its own vegetation, species and population size.
The influence of abiotic factors on humans
Man, as a component of the ecosystem, also refers to objects susceptible to the influence of abiotic factors of inanimate nature. The dependence of human health and behavior on solar activity, the lunar cycle, cyclones and similar influences was noted several centuries ago, thanks to the observation skills of our ancestors. And in modern society, the presence of a group of people is invariably recorded, whose changes in mood and well-being are indirectly influenced by abiotic environmental factors.
For example, studies of solar influence have shown that this star has an eleven-year cycle of periodic activity. On this basis, fluctuations in the electromagnetic field of the Earth occur, which affects the human body. Peaks of solar activity can weaken the immune system, and, on the contrary, make pathogenic microorganisms more tenacious and adapted to widespread distribution within a community. The sad consequences of this process are outbreaks of epidemics, the emergence of new mutations and viruses.
Epidemic of unknown infection in India Another important example of abiotic influence is ultraviolet light. Everyone knows that in certain doses, this type of radiation is even useful. This environmental factor has an antibacterial effect and slows down the development of spores that cause skin diseases. But in large doses, ultraviolet radiation negatively affects the population, causing fatal diseases such as cancer, leukemia or sarcoma.
The manifestations of the action of abiotic environmental factors on humans directly include temperature, pressure and air humidity, in short - climate. An increase in temperature will lead to inhibition of physical activity and the development of problems with the cardiovascular system. Low temperatures are dangerous due to hypothermia, which means inflammatory processes in the respiratory system, joints and limbs. It should be noted here that the humidity parameter further enhances the influence of temperature conditions.
An increase in atmospheric pressure threatens the health of those with weak joints and fragile blood vessels. Particularly dangerous are sudden changes in this climatic parameter - sudden hypoxia, blockage of capillaries, fainting and even coma can occur.
Among the environmental factors, one cannot fail to note the chemical aspect of the impact on humans. These include all chemical elements contained in water, atmosphere or soil. There is a concept of regional factors - excess or, conversely, deficiency of certain compounds or trace elements in the nature of each individual region. For example, of the listed factors, both a lack of fluoride is harmful - it causes damage to tooth enamel, and its excess - it accelerates the process of ossification of ligaments and disrupts the functioning of some internal organs. Particularly noticeable in the incidence rate of the population are fluctuations in the content of chemical elements such as chromium, calcium, iodine, zinc, and lead.
Of course, many of the abiotic conditions listed above, although they are abiotic factors of the natural environment, are in fact very dependent on human activity - the development of mines and deposits, changes in river beds, the air environment, and similar examples of the intervention of progress in natural phenomena.
Detailed characteristics of abiotic factors
Why is the effect on the population of most abiotic factors so enormous? This is logical: after all, to ensure the life cycle of any living organism on Earth, the totality of all parameters that influence the quality of life, its duration, and determine the number of ecosystem objects is important. Lighting, atmospheric composition, humidity, temperature, zonality of distribution of wildlife, salinity of water and air, its edaphic data are the most important abiotic factors and adaptation of organisms to them is positive or negative, but in any case, it is inevitable. It’s easy to verify this: just look around!
Abiotic factors in the aquatic environment ensure the origin of life and account for three-quarters of every living cell on Earth. In a forest ecosystem, biotic factors include all the same parameters: humidity, temperature, soil, light - they determine the type of forest, the saturation of plants, and their adaptability to a particular region.
In addition to the obvious ones already listed, salinity, soil and the electromagnetic field of the Earth should also be mentioned as important abiotic factors of the natural environment. The entire ecosystem has evolved for hundreds of years, the topography of areas has changed, the degree of adaptation of living organisms to certain living conditions has changed, new species have appeared and entire populations have migrated. However, this natural chain has long been disrupted by the fruits of human activity on the planet. The work of environmental factors is fundamentally disrupted due to the fact that the influence of abiotic parameters does not occur purposefully, like factors of inanimate nature, but as a harmful effect on the development of organisms.
Unfortunately, the influence of abiotic factors on the quality and life expectancy of humans and humanity as a whole has been and remains enormous and can have both positive and negative consequences for each individual organism for all humanity as a whole.
Test "Abiotic environmental factors"
1. Signal for the beginning of the autumn migration of insectivorous birds:
1) decrease in ambient temperature
2) reduction of daylight hours
3) lack of food
4) increase in humidity and pressure
2. The number of squirrels in the forest zone is NOT affected by:
1) alternation of cold and warm winters
2) harvest of fir cones
3) number of predators
3. Abiotic factors include:
1) competition between plants for light absorption
2) the influence of plants on animal life
3) temperature change during the day
4) human pollution
4. A factor limiting the growth of herbaceous plants in a spruce forest is a disadvantage:
4) minerals
5. What is the name of a factor that significantly deviates from the optimal value for the type:
1) abiotic
2) biotic
3) anthropogenic
4) limiting
6. The signal for the onset of leaf fall in plants is:
1) increase in environmental humidity
2) reduction in daylight hours
3) reducing environmental humidity
4) increase in ambient temperature
7. Wind, precipitation, dust storms are factors:
1) anthropogenic
2) biotic
3) abiotic
4) limiting
8. The reaction of organisms to changes in day length is called:
1) microevolutionary changes
2) photoperiodism
3) phototropism
4) unconditioned reflex
9. Abiotic environmental factors include:
1) boars tearing up roots
2) locust invasion
3) formation of bird colonies
4) heavy snowfall
10. Of the listed phenomena, daily biorhythms include:
1) migration of marine fish to spawn
2) opening and closing of flowers of angiosperms
3) bud bursting in trees and shrubs
4) opening and closing shells in mollusks
11. What factor limits plant life in the steppe zone?
1) high temperature
2) lack of moisture
3) absence of humus
4) excess ultraviolet rays
12. The most important abiotic factor that mineralizes organic residues in the forest biogeocenosis is:
1) frost
13. Abiotic factors that determine population size include:
1) interspecific competition
3) decreased fertility
4) humidity
14. The main limiting factor for plant life in the Indian Ocean is the lack of:
3) mineral salts
4) organic substances
15. Abiotic environmental factors include:
1) soil fertility
2) a wide variety of plants
3) presence of predators
4) air temperature
16. The reaction of organisms to the length of the day is called:
1) phototropism
2) heliotropism
3) photoperiodism
4) phototaxis
17. Which factor regulates seasonal phenomena in the life of plants and animals?
1) temperature change
2) air humidity level
3) availability of shelter
4) length of day and night
Answers: 1 – 2; 2 – 1; 3 – 3; 4 – 1; 5 – 4;
6 – 2; 7 – 3; 8 – 2; 9 – 4; 10 – 2; 11 – 2;
12 – 2; 13 – 4; 14 – 1; 15 – 4; 16 – 3;
17 – 4; 18 – 4; 19 – 1; 20 – 4; 21 – 2.
18. Which of the following inanimate factors most significantly influences the distribution of amphibians?
3) air pressure
4) humidity
19. Cultivated plants grow poorly in swampy soil because it:
1) insufficient oxygen content
2) methane formation occurs
3) excess content of organic substances
4) contains a lot of peat
20. What device helps cool plants when the air temperature rises?
1) decrease in metabolic rate
2) increase in the intensity of photosynthesis
3) decrease in breathing intensity
4) increased water evaporation
21. What adaptation of shade-tolerant plants ensures more efficient and complete absorption of sunlight?
1) small leaves
2) large leaves
3) thorns and thorns
4) waxy coating on the leaves
Environmental factors are all environmental factors that affect the body. They are divided into 3 groups:
The best value of a factor for an organism is called optimal(optimum point), for example, the optimal air temperature for humans is 22º.
Anthropogenic factors
Human impacts are changing the environment too quickly. This leads to many species becoming rare and becoming extinct. Biodiversity is decreasing because of this.
For example, consequences of deforestation:
- The habitat for forest inhabitants (animals, mushrooms, lichens, herbs) is being destroyed. They may disappear completely (decrease in biodiversity).
- The forest holds the top fertile layer of soil with its roots. Without support, the soil can be carried away by the wind (you get a desert) or water (you get ravines).
- The forest evaporates a lot of water from the surface of its leaves. If you remove the forest, the air humidity in the area will decrease, and the soil moisture will increase (a swamp may form).
1. Choose three options. What anthropogenic factors influence the size of the wild boar population in the forest community?
1) increase in the number of predators
2) shooting animals
3) feeding animals
4) spread of infectious diseases
5) cutting down trees
6) harsh weather conditions in winter
Answer
2. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What anthropogenic factors influence the population size of the May lily of the valley in the forest community?
1) cutting down trees
2) increase in shading
4) collection of wild plants
5) low air temperature in winter
6) trampling of soil
Answer
3. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What processes in nature are classified as anthropogenic factors?
1) destruction of the ozone layer
2) daily change in illumination
3) competition in the population
4) accumulation of herbicides in the soil
5) relationships between predators and their victims
6) increased greenhouse effect
Answer
4. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What anthropogenic factors influence the number of plants listed in the Red Book?
1) destruction of their living environment
2) increase in shading
3) lack of moisture in summer
4) expansion of the areas of agrocenoses
5) sudden temperature changes
6) trampling of soil
Answer
5. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. Anthropogenic environmental factors include
1) adding organic fertilizers to the soil
2) decrease in illumination in reservoirs with depth
3) precipitation
4) thinning of pine seedlings
5) cessation of volcanic activity
6) shallowing of rivers as a result of deforestation
Answer
6. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What environmental disturbances in the biosphere are caused by anthropogenic intervention?
1) destruction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere
2) seasonal changes in illumination of the land surface
3) decline in the number of cetaceans
4) accumulation of heavy metals in the bodies of organisms near highways
5) accumulation of humus in the soil as a result of leaf fall
6) accumulation of sedimentary rocks in the depths of the World Ocean
Answer
1. Establish a correspondence between the example and the group of environmental factors that it illustrates: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic
A) pond overgrowing with duckweed
B) increase in the number of fish fry
C) eating fish fry by a swimming beetle
D) ice formation
D) flushing of mineral fertilizers into the river
Answer
2. Establish a correspondence between the process occurring in the forest biocenosis and the environmental factor that it characterizes: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic
A) relationship between aphids and ladybugs
B) waterlogging of the soil
B) daily change in illumination
D) competition between thrush species
D) increasing air humidity
E) the effect of the tinder fungus on birch
Answer
3. Establish a correspondence between the examples and the environmental factors that these examples illustrate: 1) abiotic, 2) biotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the correct order.
A) increase in atmospheric air pressure
B) change in ecosystem topography caused by an earthquake
C) a change in the population of hares as a result of an epidemic
D) interaction between wolves in a pack
D) competition for territory between pine trees in the forest
Answer
4. Establish a correspondence between the characteristics of an environmental factor and its type: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the correct order.
A) ultraviolet radiation
B) drying up of water bodies during drought
B) animal migration
D) pollination of plants by bees
D) photoperiodism
E) a decrease in the number of squirrels in lean years
Answer
Answer
6f. Establish a correspondence between the examples and the environmental factors that these examples illustrate: 1) abiotic, 2) biotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) an increase in soil acidity caused by a volcanic eruption
B) change in the relief of meadow biogeocenosis after a flood
C) a change in the wild boar population as a result of an epidemic
D) interaction between aspens in the forest ecosystem
D) competition for territory between male tigers
Answer
7f. Establish a correspondence between environmental factors and groups of factors: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) daily fluctuations in air temperature
B) change in day length
B) predator-prey relationship
D) symbiosis of algae and fungus in lichen
D) change in environmental humidity
Answer
Answer
2. Establish a correspondence between the examples and the environmental factors that these examples illustrate: 1) Biotic, 2) Abiotic, 3) Anthropogenic. Write the numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the correct order.
A) Autumn leaf fall
B) Planting trees in the park
C) Formation of nitric acid in the soil during a thunderstorm
D) Illumination
D) The struggle for resources in the population
E) Emissions of freons into the atmosphere
Answer
3. Establish a correspondence between the examples and environmental factors: 1) abiotic, 2) biotic, 3) anthropogenic. Write numbers 1-3 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) change in the gas composition of the atmosphere
B) distribution of plant seeds by animals
C) drainage of swamps by humans
D) increase in the number of consumers in the biocenosis
D) change of seasons
E) deforestation
Answer
Answer
Answer
1. Choose three correct answers out of six and write them down in the numbers under which they are indicated. The following factors lead to a decrease in the number of squirrels in a coniferous forest:
1) reduction in the number of birds of prey and mammals
2) cutting down coniferous trees
3) harvest of fir cones after a warm, dry summer
4) increase in predator activity
5) outbreak of epidemics
6) deep snow cover in winter
Answer
Answer
Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. The destruction of forests over vast areas leads to
1) an increase in the amount of harmful nitrogen impurities in the atmosphere
2) destruction of the ozone layer
3) violation of the water regime
4) change of biogeocenoses
5) violation of the direction of air flows
6) reduction in species diversity
Answer
1. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. Among the environmental factors, indicate biotic ones.
1) flood
2) competition between individuals of the species
3) decrease in temperature
4) predation
5) lack of light
6) formation of mycorrhiza
Answer
2. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. Biotic factors include
1) predation
2) forest fire
3) competition between individuals of different species
4) increase in temperature
5) formation of mycorrhiza
6) lack of moisture
Answer
1. Select three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the table. Which of the following environmental factors are considered abiotic?
1) air temperature
2) greenhouse gas pollution
3) the presence of non-recyclable waste
4) availability of a road
5) illumination
6) oxygen concentration
Answer
2. Select three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the table. Abiotic factors include:
1) Seasonal bird migration
2) Volcanic eruption
3) The appearance of a tornado
4) Construction of platinum by beavers
5) Ozone formation during a thunderstorm
6) Deforestation
Answer
3. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the answer. The abiotic components of the steppe ecosystem include:
1) herbaceous vegetation
2) wind erosion
3) mineral composition of the soil
4) precipitation regime
5) species composition of microorganisms
6) seasonal grazing of livestock
Answer
Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What environmental factors may be limiting for brook trout?
1) fresh water
2) oxygen content less than 1.6 mg/l
3) water temperature +29 degrees
4) water salinity
5) illumination of the reservoir
6) river flow speed
Answer
1. Establish a correspondence between the environmental factor and the group to which it belongs: 1) anthropogenic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the correct order.
A) artificial irrigation of land
B) meteorite fall
B) plowing virgin soil
D) spring flood
D) construction of a dam
E) cloud movement
Answer
2. Establish a correspondence between the characteristics of the environment and the environmental factor: 1) anthropogenic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) deforestation
B) tropical showers
B) melting glaciers
D) forest plantations
D) draining swamps
E) increase in day length in spring
Answer
Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. The following anthropogenic factors can change the number of producers in an ecosystem:
1) collection of flowering plants
2) increase in the number of first-order consumers
3) trampling of plants by tourists
4) decrease in soil moisture
5) cutting down hollow trees
6) increase in the number of consumers of the second and third orders
Answer
Read the text. Select three sentences that describe abiotic factors. Write down the numbers under which they are indicated. (1) The main source of light on Earth is the Sun. (2) Light-loving plants, as a rule, have strongly dissected leaf blades and a large number of stomata in the epidermis. (3) Environmental humidity is an important condition for the existence of living organisms. (4) During evolution, plants have developed adaptations to maintain the water balance of the body. (5) The carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere is essential for living organisms.
Answer
Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. With a sharp decline in the number of pollinating insects in a meadow over time
1) the number of insect-pollinated plants is decreasing
2) the number of birds of prey is increasing
3) the number of herbivores increases
4) the number of wind-pollinated plants increases
5) the soil water horizon changes
6) the number of insectivorous birds is decreasing
Answer
© D.V. Pozdnyakov, 2009-2019
ABIOTIC FACTORS, various factors not related to living organisms, both beneficial and harmful, found in the environment surrounding living organisms. These include, for example, the atmosphere, climate, geological structures, amount of light,... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary
Environments, components and phenomena of inanimate, inorganic nature (climate, light, chemical elements and substances, temperature, pressure and movement of the environment, soil, etc.), directly or indirectly affecting organisms. Ecological encyclopedic... ... Ecological dictionary
abiotic factors- abiotiniai veiksniai statusas T sritis ekologija ir aplinkotyra apibrėžtis Fiziniai (temperatūra, aplinkos slėgis, klampumas, šviesos, jonizuojančioji spinduliuotė, grunto granulometrinės savybės) ir cheminiai (atmosferos, vanden s, grunto cheminė… Ekologijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas
Factors of inorganic nature affecting living organisms... Large medical dictionary
Abiotic factors- factors of the inorganic, or nonliving, environment in the group of environmental adaptation factors operating among biological species and their communities, divided into climatic (light, air, water, soil, humidity, wind), soil... ... The beginnings of modern natural science
ABIOTIC FACTORS- Factors of the inorganic environment affecting living organisms. These include: the composition of the atmosphere, sea and fresh waters, soil, climate, as well as zoohygienic conditions of livestock buildings... Terms and definitions used in breeding, genetics and reproduction of farm animals
ABIOTIC FACTORS- (from the Greek a negative prefix and biotikos vital, living), inorganic factors. environments affecting living organisms. K A. f. include the composition of the atmosphere, sea. and fresh water, soil, climate. characteristics (temperature pa, pressure, etc.). The totality... Agricultural Encyclopedic Dictionary
abiotic factors- (from the Greek a negative prefix and biōtikós vital, living), factors of the inorganic environment that affect living organisms. K A. f. include the composition of the atmosphere, sea and fresh waters, soil, climatic characteristics (temperature... Agriculture. Large encyclopedic dictionary
ABIOTIC FACTORS- environment, a set of conditions in the inorganic environment that affect the body. Chemical a.f.: chemical composition of the atmosphere, sea and fresh waters, soil or bottom sediments. Physical a.f.: temperature, light, barometric pressure, wind,... ... Veterinary encyclopedic dictionary
Environments, a set of conditions in the inorganic environment that affect organisms. A. f. are divided into chemical (chemical composition of the atmosphere, sea and fresh water, soil or bottom sediments) and physical, or climatic (temperature, ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Books
- Ecology. Textbook. RF Ministry of Defense stamp
- Ecology. Textbook. Grif Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Potapov A.D.. The textbook examines the basic principles of ecology as a science about the interaction of living organisms with their habitat. The main principles of geoecology as a science about the main...
Abiotic factors
Abiotic factors are factors of inanimate nature, physical and chemical in nature. These include: light, temperature, humidity, pressure, salinity (especially in the aquatic environment), mineral composition (in the soil, in the soil of reservoirs), movements of air masses (wind), movements of water masses (currents), etc. The combination of various abiotic factors determines the distribution of species of organisms across different regions of the globe. Everyone knows that this or that biological species is not found everywhere, but in areas where there are conditions necessary for its existence. This, in particular, explains the geographic location of various species on the surface of our planet.
As noted above, the existence of a particular species depends on a combination of many different abiotic factors. Moreover, for each type the significance of individual factors, as well as their combinations, is very specific.
The most important thing for all living organisms is light. Firstly, because it is practically the only source of energy for all living things. Autotrophic (photosynthetic) organisms - cyanobacteria, plants, converting the energy of sunlight into the energy of chemical bonds (in the process of synthesis of organic substances from minerals), ensure their existence. But in addition, the organic substances created by them serve (in the form of food) as a source of energy for all heterotrophs. Secondly, light plays an important role as a factor regulating lifestyle, behavior, and physiological processes occurring in organisms. Let us recall such a well-known example as the fall of leaves from trees. A gradual reduction in daylight hours triggers a complex process of physiological restructuring of plants on the eve of the long winter period.
Changes in daylight hours throughout the year are of great importance for animals in the temperate zone. Seasonality determines the reproduction of many of their species, changes in plumage and fur, horns in ungulates, metamorphosis in insects, migration of fish and birds.
An abiotic factor no less important than light is temperature. Most living creatures can only live in the range from –50 to +50 °C. And mainly in the habitats of organisms on Earth, temperatures are observed that do not go beyond these limits. However, there are species that have adapted to exist at very high or low temperatures. Thus, some bacteria and roundworms can live in hot springs with temperatures up to +85 °C. In the conditions of the Arctic and Antarctica, there are different types of warm-blooded animals - polar bears, penguins.
Temperature as an abiotic factor can significantly influence the rate of development and physiological activity of living organisms, since it is subject to daily and seasonal fluctuations.
Other abiotic factors are no less important, but to varying degrees for different groups of living organisms. Thus, for all terrestrial species, humidity plays a significant role, and for aquatic species, salinity plays a significant role. The fauna and flora of islands in the oceans and seas are significantly influenced by the wind. For soil inhabitants, its structure, i.e., the size of soil particles, is important.
Biotic and anthropogenic factors
Biotic factors(factors of living nature) represent various forms of interactions between organisms of the same and different species.
Relationships between organisms of the same species often have a character competition, and quite spicy. This is due to their identical needs - for food, territorial space, light (for plants), nesting places (for birds), etc.
Often in relationships between individuals of the same species there is also cooperation. The gregarious, gregarious lifestyle of many animals (ungulates, seals, monkeys) allows them to successfully defend themselves from predators and ensure the survival of their young. Wolves provide an interesting example. Over the course of the year, they experience a change from competitive to cooperative relationships. In the spring and summer, wolves live in pairs (male and female) and raise offspring. Moreover, each pair occupies a certain hunting territory that provides them with food. There is fierce territorial competition between the couples. In winter, wolves gather in packs and hunt together, and a rather complex “social” structure develops in a wolf pack. The transition from competition to cooperation is due here to the fact that in summer there is a lot of prey (small animals), and in winter only large animals (elk, deer, wild boar) are available. The wolf cannot cope with them alone, so a pack is formed for a successful joint hunt.
Relationships between organisms of different species very diverse. In those that have similar needs (for food, nesting sites), it is observed competition. For example, between a gray and black rat, a red cockroach and a black one. Not very often, but between different types it develops cooperation, like at a bird market. Numerous birds of small species are the first to notice danger and the approach of a predator. They raise the alarm, and large, strong species (for example, herring gulls) actively attack the predator (Arctic fox) and drive it away, protecting both their nests and the nests of small birds.
Widely distributed in species relationships predation. In this case, the predator kills the prey and eats it whole. Herbivory is also closely related to this method: here, too, individuals of one species eat representatives of another (sometimes, however, not eating the entire plant, but only partially).
At commensalism the symbiont benefits from cohabitation, and the host is not harmed, but he does not receive any benefit. For example, a pilot fish (commensal), living near a large shark (owner), has a reliable protector, and it also gets food from the owner’s table. The shark simply does not notice its “freeloader”. Commensalism is widely observed in animals leading an attached lifestyle - sponges and coelenterates (Fig. 1).
Rice. 1.Sea anemone on a shell occupied by a hermit crab
The larvae of these animals settle on the shell of crabs and shells of mollusks, and the developed adult organisms use the host as a “vehicle”.
Mutualistic relationships are characterized by mutual benefit for both the mutualist and the owner. Widely known examples of this are intestinal bacteria in humans (“supplying” the necessary vitamins to their owner); nodule bacteria - nitrogen fixers - living in plant roots, etc.
Finally, two species existing in the same territory (“neighbors”) may not interact with each other in any way. In this case they talk about neutralism, absence of any species relationships.
Anthropogenic factors - factors (affecting living organisms and ecological systems) resulting from human activities.