REM 103 Assignment 2 - GASPAR - GCDN2019T29514
REM 103 Assignment 2 - GASPAR - GCDN2019T29514
REM 103 Assignment 2 - GASPAR - GCDN2019T29514
Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of the environment that can often have a major influence
on living organisms. Abiotic factors include water, sunlight, oxygen, soil and temperature.
Water (H2O) is a very important abiotic factor – it is often said that “water is life.” All living
organisms need water. Plants must have water to grow. Even plants that live in the desert need a
little bit of water to grow. Without water, animals become weak and confused, and they can die if
they do not rehydrate. This is your body signaling to you that you must rehydrate.
Sunlight is the main source of energy on Earth, which makes it an extremely important abiotic
factor. Sunlight is necessary for photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert carbon dioxide
(CO2) and water to oxygen (O2) and sugar – food for the plants that later becomes food for animals.
Without the sun, plants could not live, and without plants, animals could not live! The sun’s heat is
also extremely important .
Like water, oxygen (O2) is another important abiotic factor for many living organisms. Without
oxygen, humans would not be able to live! This is true for the many other living organisms that use
oxygen. Oxygen is produced by green plants through the process of photosynthesis, and is
therefore directly linked to sunlight.
Soil is often considered an abiotic factor since it is mostly made up of small particles of rock (sand
and clay) mixed with decomposed plants and animals. Plants use their roots to get water and
nutrients from the soil. Soils are different from place to place – this can be a big factor in which
plants and animals live in a certain area.
Biotic factors are all of the living things in an ecosystem, such as plants and animals. These living
things interact with one another in many ways. Biotic factors and their interactions can be broken
down into three groups:
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1. Producers. All plants, such as grass and trees, are producers. These organisms absorb
the sun’s energy and convert the energy into food for themselves, allowing them to grow
larger, make flowers and seeds, etc.
2. Consumers. These organisms, mostly animals, eat producers and/or other animals. They
may also eat decomposers. Two examples of consumers are deer (eat plants) and wolves
(eat animals). Consumers that only eat plants (herbivores) are often known as primary
consumers.
3. Decomposers. These organisms break down dead material (such as a fallen tree) into soil
and return nutrients to the soil so they can be re-used by producers to create food. An
example of a decomposer is a mushroom.
Climate means the usual condition of the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind,
rainfall, and other meteorological elements in an area of the Earth's surface for a long time. In
simple terms climate is the average condition for about thirty years. Climate and weather are
different. Weather is the day to day conditions in the atmosphere. The types of climates are:
Tropical, Desert/dry, Temperate, Polar, Mediterranean.
Polar climate (also called boreal climate), has long, usually very cold winters, and short summers.
Temperate climates have four seasons. Some of the countries which have a temperate climate are:
Turkey, and most of the European countries. Deserts. They just have one or two seasons such as:
Saudi Arabia and most of the African countries. Tropical climates have warm temperature and only
two seasons; wet and dry. An example of a place with a tropical climate is the Amazon Rainforest in
Brazil. The Mediterranean climate is usually hot and dry in summer, and is cool and wet in winter.
An example of a country with a Mediterranean climate is Spain.
Adaptation: any change in the structure or behavior of a species which helps it to become better
fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment. Adaptation, in biology, the process by which a
species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of natural selection’s acting upon heritable
variation over several generations. Organisms are adapted to their environments in a great variety
of ways: in their structure, physiology, and genetics, in their locomotion or dispersal, in their means
of defense and attack, in their reproduction and development, and in other respects.
The word adaptation does not stem from its current usage in evolutionary biology but rather dates
back to the early 17th century, when it indicated a relation between design and function or how
something fits into something else. In biology this general idea has been coopted so that adaptation
has three meanings. First, in a physiological sense, an animal or plant can adapt by adjusting to its
immediate environment—for instance, by changing its temperature or metabolism with an increase
in altitude. Second, and more commonly, the word adaptation refers either to the process of
becoming adapted or to the features of organisms that promote reproductive success relative to
other possible features.
Here the process of adaptation is driven by genetic variations among individuals that become
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adapted to—that is, have greater success in—a specific environmental context.
The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the Earth that serves as
a natural medium for the growth of land plants. The upper limit of soil is the boundary between soil
and air, shallow water, live plants, or plant materials that have not begun to decompose. Soils are
dynamic and diverse natural systems that lie at the interface between earth, air, water, and life.
They are critical ecosystem service providers for the sustenance of humanity. The improved
conservation and management of soils is among the great challenges and opportunities we face in
the 21st century.
Soil is a material composed of five ingredients — minerals, soil organic matter, living organisms,
gas, and water. Soil minerals are divided into three size classes — clay, silt, and sand ; the
percentages of particles in these size classes is called soil texture. The mineralogy of soils is diverse.
For example, a clay mineral called smectite can shrink and swell so much upon wetting and drying
that it can knock over buildings. The most common mineral in soils is quartz; it makes beautiful
crystals but it is not very reactive. Soil organic matter is plant, animal, and microbial residues in
various states of decomposition; it is a critical ingredient — in fact the percentage of soil a soil is
among the best indicators of agricultural soil quality. Soil colors range from the common browns,
yellows, reds, grays, whites, and blacks to rare soil colors such as greens and blues.
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for
dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated
into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures, such as hair,
scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. Some nutrients can be metabolically converted to smaller
molecules in the process of releasing energy, such as for carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and
fermentation products (ethanol or vinegar), leading to end-products of water and carbon dioxide. All
organisms require water. Essential nutrients for animals are the energy sources, some of the amino
acids that are combined to create proteins, a subset of fatty acids, vitamins and certain minerals.
Plants require more diverse minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen
absorbed through leaves. Fungi live on dead or living organic matter and meet nutrient needs from
their host.