Interactions of living things
concepts
Abiotic factors
The nonliving things in the
environment.
Biotic factors
The living things in the
environment.
Habitat
A place where plants and
animals live.
Predators
An animal that hunts other
animals for food.
Prey
Animals that are eaten by
other animals.
Invasive species
An organism that is
introduced to a new
ecosystem and causes harm.
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is made up of all living and nonliving things in an environment.
All of the living things in an environment are called biotic factors.
Plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria are biotic factors.
Abiotic factors are the nonliving things in the environment.
Air, water, soil, rocks, and light are abiotic factors.
Both biotic and abiotic factors interact with one another.
Matter cycle between the biotic and abiotic factors of an environment, providing living
things with the resources they need to survive.
provide examples of biotic and abiotic factors in
ecosystems and ways that they interact with each other using the example that has been shown.
Biotic Factors Abiotic Factors
Sample answer: Sample answer:
biotic factors are abiotic factors are
all of the living things in an all of the nonliving things in an
environment environment
• foxes and rabbits • foxes, rabbits, and
are living things in plants also rely on
the forest; rabbits water, air, and
rely on plants for sunlight; without
food and foxes rely these, they would
on rabbits for food. not survive.
Habitats
Ecosystems can be small, like a single log or a pond, or very large, like a forest or a desert.
Each organism must have its own space.
The place in an ecosystem where an organism lives is its habitat.
Habitats vary depending on the type of ecosystem, such as
freshwater habitats like ponds and rivers.
Each living thing has its own special role that an organism plays in the ecosystem.
For example
An earthworm's in a forest ecosystem is to break down plant matter in the soil.
Predator and prey
In an ecosystem, there are many relationships and interactions of biotic and abiotic factors.
All living things need water, air, and space.
Animals need food from other sources.
Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat other animals, and omnivores eat both plants and
animals.
Plants are producers and make their own food.
Animals are consumers and need food from other sources.
Organisms that hunt for their food are predators.
The organisms they hunt are prey.
Predators are important in ecosystems because they help control the size of prey
populations.
When the populations of prey are controlled, producers and other resources are less likely
to run out.
Invasive species
Humans may move an organism from its natural ecosystem to another.
If the organism lives and reproduce in the new ecosystem, it can cause harm to that area.
An organism that is introduced to the new ecosystem and causes harm is an
invasive species.
Invasive species can harm the environment and even the human health.
Species that grow and reproduce without other animals that hunt it are likely
spread quickly and become invasive.
Sometimes, the invasive species are accidently introduced to the environment.
Other times, it is introduced in purpose.
The cane toad was introduced to Australia in the 1930s.
A type of beetle in Australia was eating sugar cane crops.
Cane toads are known to eat large amounts of beetles.
So, farmers moved the can toads from their natural habitat in South America to
sugar crops fields in Australia.
These toads have a toxic skin and have no animals that hunts them for food in
Australia.
The population is now the millions!
These toads are both poisoning and competing with native species.
Invasive species are primarily spread by human activities.
