Botany Quiz on Plant Behavior and Classification

Abiotic and Biotic Components of the Environment

• Abiotic factors are non-living components that affect organisms' growth and activities.
• Examples include light, temperature, water, atmospheric gases, soil, and physiographic features.
• Biotic factors are all living organisms and the waste they create.
• Examples include plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.

Studying Organisms in their Environment

• An organism is an individual living thing.
• A population is a group of organisms of the same species living in a particular area.
• A community is all the different populations living together in an area.
• An ecosystem is a community of organisms and their physical environment.

Abiotic Factors

• The way plants and animals grow and behave is affected by abiotic factors.
• Light, temperature, water, atmospheric gases, soil (edaphic), and physiographic conditions (nature of land) are abiotic factors.
• An organism's distribution is affected by where suitable environments exist.

Examples of Abiotic Factors

• Photographs show examples of various abiotic factors, including fire, rocks, and plant life, reflecting different environments.

Biotic Factors (Tropical Rainforest)

• Tropical rainforests have a vast diversity of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.
• Rainforests are highly diverse habitats.
• They are the most diverse terrestrial habitats on Earth.
• Their biodiversity accounts for the large number of biotic factors present.

Examples of Biotic Factors

• Various images illustrate examples of biotic factors, like a tree stump, a cow, and a bird.

Interactions between Biotic Factors

• Biotic factors interact in various complex ways.
• Interactions include competition, mutualism, and parasitism.
• Biotic factors depend on abiotic factors like water, minerals, temperature, and light within the ecosystem.

Biotic and Abiotic Factors (Ecosystems)

• Ecosystems consist of both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components.
• These components interact and influence each other to create a complex and dynamic system.

Abiotic Factors (Species Tolerance)

• Every species has a tolerance range for each abiotic factor.
• The tolerance range is the range of conditions of an abiotic factor a species can survive in.
• Optimal range is where a species is best adapted and where largest, healthiest populations occur.
• Stress is experienced by organisms near the upper or lower tolerance limits; health, growth, and reproduction rates are reduced.

Abiotic Factors (Species Distribution)

• Some species have broad tolerance ranges while others have narrow ranges.
• Species with broad tolerance ranges tend to be more widely distributed and can easily invade other ecosystems.
• Species with narrow tolerance ranges are often restricted to specific environments.
• In terrestrial plants, species distribution is often limited by a combination of temperature, precipitation, and light.
• In aquatic habitats, salt concentration, sunlight oxygen, and nutrients play a significant role in species distribution.

Climatic Controls of Plant Communities

• Temperature, solar radiation, and precipitation are the three major climatic controls of plant communities.
• These factors indirectly affect vegetation through soil conditions.
• The intensity and distribution of these factors throughout the year influence plant community distribution.
• Raunkiaer classified plants by plant characteristics reflecting adaptation to local climate.

Raunkiaer's Life Forms (Plant Classification)

• Raunkiaer classified plants by the height of perennating tissue from the soil surface.
• This classification categorizes plants based on their ability to survive and reproduce from season to season.
• Plants with their perennating buds below ground (Cryptophytes, Geophytes), on or just below the surface (Hemicryptophytes), or above the surface (Chamaephytes) have distinct growth patterns corresponding to their regions' climates.

Plant Growth Forms

• Plants display various forms related to strategies for gaining sunlight.
• Epiphytes are plants that grow high on trees, relying on the tree for support and extracting water and nutrients from the air and trapped debris.
• Bromeliads are a part of the pineapple family, and can be abundant in the tropical rainforest.
• Lianas are woody vines that grow rapidly around tree trunks.

Heterotrophs (Forest Floor Plants)

• Parasites are plants that derive nutrition from other plants, like Rafflesia arnoldi.
• Saprophytes get nutrition from decaying organic material.

Water

• Plant and animal habitats vary from water-filled environments to dry deserts.
• Water is vital for all organisms.

Water Requirements of Plants

• Hydrophytes are adapted for growth in water.
• Mesophytes require moderate water levels.
• Xerophytes thrive in dry conditions and have adaptations to conserve water.

Water Requirements of Animals

• Terrestrial animals are susceptible to desiccation, requiring adaptations for water conservation.
• Adaptations include limited sweating or improved internal water retention.

Atmospheric Gases

• Plants and animals use oxygen for respiration and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
• Nitrogen is made available to organisms by specific bacteria and lightning.

Wind

• Winds are created by interactions between hot air expanding and rising.
• Global wind patterns are influenced by the Coriolis force, affecting wind direction.
• Winds aid in plant pollination, seed dispersal, and animal migration, and impact soil erosion.

Soil

• Soil characteristics like texture, air, temperature, water, solution, pH and organisms influence plant growth.

Physiographic Factors

• Physiographic factors include altitude, slope, and the location of a region in relation to the sun or wind.
• Altitude influences vegetation zones and how organisms respond to varying temperatures and conditions.
• Areas facing wind and leeward sides show differences in vegetation types.

Biotic Factors (Interactions)

• In ecosystems, biotic factors (living organisms and waste) drive interactions, influencing biodiversity and ecosystem balance.
• Competitive, predator-prey, and mutualistic relationships are important.
• Changes in one biotic factor can disrupt the whole ecosystem.

Biotic Factor Definition

• Biotic factors refer to all living things within an ecological setting.
• Biotic factors—which include plants, animals, and microbes—directly influence energy flow in ecosystem cycles and environmental adaptation.

Biotic Structure (Ecosystem Components)

• Producers (plants) use photosynthesis; consumers (animals) feed on producers or other consumers; decomposers break down organic matter for nutrient recycling.

Biotic Components

• Producers are autotrophs, able to make their own food.
• Consumers are heterotrophs, consuming other organisms for nutrients.
• Consumers are further classified as primary (herbivores), secondary (carnivores), and tertiary (top predators).
• Decomposers break down dead organic material, returning nutrients to the ecosystem.

Biotic Interactions

• Interactions between organisms within an ecosystem include competition for limited resources (food, light, space, mates).
• Interactions extend to predation, mutualism (two organisms benefiting from interaction), and commensalism (one benefits while the other is unaffected).

Biotic Implications

• Biotic and abiotic factors impact ecosystem interactions.
• Abiotic factors like light and soil directly influence biotic factors.
• Biotic changes (disease outbreaks) can rapidly destabilize an ecosystem.
• Changes in a part of the ecosystem (one link in a food chain) can affect all life forms.

Sample Food Chains

• Diagrams display different food chains in various ecosystems (grassland, pond, ocean) illustrating relationships among organisms.

Carrying Capacity

• Population size increases result in higher demand for resources.
• Carrying capacity is the maximum population a habitat can support.
• Resources eventually become limiting, affecting survival rates.
• Natural and human factors can affect carrying capacity.

Ecological Balance/Balance of Nature

• Natural conditions and number of species remain fairly stable over time under undisturbed conditions.
• Natural equilibrium can change when new species enter an ecosystem, due to disease, human actions and natural disasters.

Sustainability

• Sustainable ecosystems maintain ecological processes.
• Human activities can often lead to unsustainable practices altering or harming ecosystem processes.