Abiotic Factors
Water alone has a major effect on this biome. With the river running through the park, and the valleys that allow for water to all drain down into one area of the park, it allows for the saturation of soil needed to actually be able to classify part of the park as a wetland. With all that water, all the soil is extremely saturated, which controls the types and amounts of plant that are able to grow in the area. It also suits animals that are better equipped for watery environments, and therefore controls which animals would likely live in the wetland area of the park instead of the others. The temperature and humidity also affect the plant life that is growing in the area, but also which animals can survive in the ecosystem as well. However, it also plays into the animal life. Since some animals can't willingly regulate their body temperature, living in this place for them is extremely difficult, and the humidity makes it difficult for even those who can perspire and regulate their temperature. Because of this, only certain animals are able to survive in the ecosystem.
Biotic Factors
Unlike abiotic factors controlling where and what can live, biotic factors instead often control how successful a species can be in an area. Because all the factors listed involve interactions between individuals/species, biotic factors will always be changing based off of each other, once again differing from abiotic factors. (35) For symbiosis, mutualism occurs when two species have an interaction and both benefit. Mutualism is one of the exceptions to the idea that biotic factors have to cause at least one species to lose something. The other exception would be commensalism, which is when one of the species is benefitting, yet the other is neither being helped nor harmed. Parasitism however, harms one species to help another, and falls into track with that idea, as does competition, predation, and most other biotic factors.
Limiting Factors
Limiting factors include both density-independent and density-dependent factors. Density-dependent factors are factors that limit a population based on how many organisms exist in the population, and directly affects how large a population could get or how many problems could occur, and the dependent factors are usually biotic. Density-independent factors are factors that can affect a population but are not biotic, such as: climate, environment, drought, etc.
A few examples of density-dependent factors in this ecosystem would include things such as predation, disease, feeding relationships, and competition. The more predation that occurs, the more population control can control (for more info see the Food Web page as it discusses predators). Disease is dependent mostly because it can be related to a similar dependent factor which is waste production. As the population increases, so does the amount of waste produced, which increases the number of disease carrying rodents or insects. Competition and feeding relationships go hand in hand when discussed as a limiting factor. As the population increases, the amount of food available will slowly decrease but need to support a larger group of organisms, which increases the competition drastically. With competition increased, the feeding relationships between species may change so as to make sure they themselves can acquire enough food to survive.
Density-independent factors, as stated earlier, could include things such as, but not limited to, climate, environment, drought, and natural disasters. For example, if the climate in an ecosystem were to suddenly change drastically, all the plant life that had been growing in optimal conditions may have trouble growing, and animals that can't shed/heat themselves may also have issues keeping an eqiullibriated temperature that suits the new climate. Natural disasters, however, could simply just devastate and raze an ecosystem to the ground and render it devoid of life. Whether it be a massive forest fire, tornado, or hurricane, most natural disasters have the ability to uproot even the strongest of trees, kill the healthiest of animals, and essentially ruin a population.
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Soil (saturated)
- Water
Water alone has a major effect on this biome. With the river running through the park, and the valleys that allow for water to all drain down into one area of the park, it allows for the saturation of soil needed to actually be able to classify part of the park as a wetland. With all that water, all the soil is extremely saturated, which controls the types and amounts of plant that are able to grow in the area. It also suits animals that are better equipped for watery environments, and therefore controls which animals would likely live in the wetland area of the park instead of the others. The temperature and humidity also affect the plant life that is growing in the area, but also which animals can survive in the ecosystem as well. However, it also plays into the animal life. Since some animals can't willingly regulate their body temperature, living in this place for them is extremely difficult, and the humidity makes it difficult for even those who can perspire and regulate their temperature. Because of this, only certain animals are able to survive in the ecosystem.
Biotic Factors
- Competition (35)
- Predation (35)
- Symbiosis (mutualism, parasitism, commensalism) (35)
Unlike abiotic factors controlling where and what can live, biotic factors instead often control how successful a species can be in an area. Because all the factors listed involve interactions between individuals/species, biotic factors will always be changing based off of each other, once again differing from abiotic factors. (35) For symbiosis, mutualism occurs when two species have an interaction and both benefit. Mutualism is one of the exceptions to the idea that biotic factors have to cause at least one species to lose something. The other exception would be commensalism, which is when one of the species is benefitting, yet the other is neither being helped nor harmed. Parasitism however, harms one species to help another, and falls into track with that idea, as does competition, predation, and most other biotic factors.
Limiting Factors
Limiting factors include both density-independent and density-dependent factors. Density-dependent factors are factors that limit a population based on how many organisms exist in the population, and directly affects how large a population could get or how many problems could occur, and the dependent factors are usually biotic. Density-independent factors are factors that can affect a population but are not biotic, such as: climate, environment, drought, etc.
A few examples of density-dependent factors in this ecosystem would include things such as predation, disease, feeding relationships, and competition. The more predation that occurs, the more population control can control (for more info see the Food Web page as it discusses predators). Disease is dependent mostly because it can be related to a similar dependent factor which is waste production. As the population increases, so does the amount of waste produced, which increases the number of disease carrying rodents or insects. Competition and feeding relationships go hand in hand when discussed as a limiting factor. As the population increases, the amount of food available will slowly decrease but need to support a larger group of organisms, which increases the competition drastically. With competition increased, the feeding relationships between species may change so as to make sure they themselves can acquire enough food to survive.
Density-independent factors, as stated earlier, could include things such as, but not limited to, climate, environment, drought, and natural disasters. For example, if the climate in an ecosystem were to suddenly change drastically, all the plant life that had been growing in optimal conditions may have trouble growing, and animals that can't shed/heat themselves may also have issues keeping an eqiullibriated temperature that suits the new climate. Natural disasters, however, could simply just devastate and raze an ecosystem to the ground and render it devoid of life. Whether it be a massive forest fire, tornado, or hurricane, most natural disasters have the ability to uproot even the strongest of trees, kill the healthiest of animals, and essentially ruin a population.