Abiotic Factors Flashcards
1
Q
What are Abiotic Factors?
A
- the non-living components of an ecosystem
2
Q
What are the Climatic Factors?
A
- sunlight, availability of water, temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind
3
Q
What are Edaphic Factors?
A
- associated with soil
(temperature, pH, organic and mineral content)
4
Q
What are Aquatic Factors?
A
- salinity, wave action, dissolved oxygen
5
Q
What are Topographic Factors?
A
- physical features (slopes, valleys)
6
Q
What is Macroclimate and Microclimate?
A
- macroclimate is the overall climate of a region and microclimate is the climate of a very small or restricted area
7
Q
What are the effects of water on aquatic organisms?
A
- they are adapted to make use of oxygen in water
- animals like whales obtain their oxygen from the water above
- they are adapted to be able to move in water
- organisms like coral and sponges are stationary on rocks
- sea snails stick to the rocks to avoid the strength of waves
8
Q
What are the three types of water?
A
- freshwater (lakes, ponds, rivers, streams)
low in salt and mineral content - saltwater (seas and oceans)
high concentration of salt - brackish water (where salt and freshwater mix)
where they meet are called estuaries
9
Q
What are the effects of water on fishes?
A
- saltwater fishes excrete concentrated urine because they lose a lot of water. Because of this, they drink lots of water but the environment they are in contains a high concentration of salt so they excrete urine with more salt than water to get rid of excess salt
- freshwater fishes have more dissolved substances in there body fluids than the water around them. Therefore, due to osmosis, water tries to enter their bodies which puts them at a risk of drowning. So, they excrete urine with more water than dissolved substances to get rid of excess water.
10
Q
What are the effects of water on land animals?
A
- animals like frogs live on land but return to water to reproduce or cool down.
11
Q
What are the effects of water on plants?
A
- plants need a constant supple of water for turgidity and photosynthesis which is why they grow in places with lots of rain, where water is near or even in water.
- some plants live where water is scarce. They are called Xerophytes. An example of a xerophyte is a cactus. They have needle-like structures instead of leaves to reduce water loss through their stomata during transpiration. They have a thick wax cuticle that conserves water. They have a swollen stem to store water and their roots go deep down to obtain water.
12
Q
What are the effects of sunlight on plants?
A
- plants need sunlight for photosynthesis to make their own food
- they also need sunlight for growth
- too much sunlight can scorch them and dry up their soil
- plants need a moderate amount of light intensity and light duration
13
Q
What is light intensity and light duration?
A
light intensity - the energy hitting an area over some time period
light duration - the number of continuous hours of light in a 24 hour period
14
Q
What are the effect of temperature on humans?
A
- we use heat from the sun to keep warm
- we are endothermic so we regulate our own body temperature
15
Q
What are the effects of temperature on animals?
A
- some animals live in very hot environments like camels.
- some live in very cold environments like polar bears who have a thick fur coat and seals and whales who have blubber.
- some animals are unable to control their body temperature, they are poikilothermic.
