Changing Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Changing abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem have a huge impact. You've already seen how altering the food chain in an Arctic ecosystem affects every organism - from the top predators to the phytoplankton and algae that produce the energy necessary to sustain life in this ecosystem.

The following video about Kelp Forests shows how a change in one of the biotic factors in this ecosystem affects the entire ecosystem. Watch how changes in the predator/prey populations and overfishing have caused great changes to the kelp forest ecosystems off the coast of California.

Changing abiotic factors also has a huge impact on ecosystems. For example, changes in climate affect polar bear populations in the Arctic and penguin populations in Antarctica.

Then, conduct your own virtual experiment - see how changing factors in a neighborhood park affects the trout population living in a nearby pond.