Dave Taylor's African Safari: Abiotic Factors of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem - Abiotic Factors

Abiotic Factors of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem
Abiotic Factors
Page 4

Summary

What is an abiotic factor? Abiotic factors are often thought of as those things in the environment that are "non-living". "Non-living" does not mean "dead". Abiotic factors are those things that never were, never will be and never could be, alive. Rocks, sand, clay, minerals, sunlight, moonlight, starlight, water, air, weather and climate are just some of the many things that affect the community of living things found in a location. It is the interaction between these "non-living" and biotic "living" things that create an ecosystem.

The scientific study of an ecosystem is called Ecology. A person who studies this is called an Ecologist. An ecologist tries to understand how abiotic factors determine what plants, animals and other organisms live in an area. They also have to determine how large the area is. In the case of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, the area, or eco-unit, is determined by the land the wildebeest herd travels over in its search for food and water.

The Whole Earth is an Ecosystem

Really it could be argued that the whole Earth is one ecosystem. Ecologists know that this is true. Each area of the Earth and each organism on this planet does affect all of the others in many complex ways. Some of these ways will be explored later in this book. Imagine that the Earth is like the Space Shuttle. You know that all of the parts, from the rockets to the food dispensers, help to make a successful shuttle flight. To really understand the workings of the shuttle however, you must understand how all of those parts work on their own too. What does this thing or that thing do?

Understanding the Earth as an ecosystem also requires an understanding of all of its parts. Once we know how one area works, we can begin to understand how it fits into the overall workings of our planet.

Helping Hands

Studying any ecosystem can help us to understand other ecosystems. We can imagine that an aquarium is a complete ecosystem. We can study it as if it really is one. We must remember that an aquarium also needs extra help to function. Water and fish food must be constantly added. Even so, it can quickly be seen that the aquarium is made up of both abiotic and biotic factors. Some abiotic factors are the light bulb, the heater, the water and the gravel. Biotic factors are the fish, fish food and plants.

There are several other sciences that help ecologists understand the ecosystem being studied. A geologist will explain the geology of the area (the rocks and minerals). A geographer explains how the physical environment came to look the way it does. A cartographer maps the area. A paleontologist helps identify the extinct life forms that came before the ones now living in an area. A climatologist studies the region’s climate. A botanist provides information about the region's plants. A biologist provides understanding of the various life forms found in the area. An ethologist explains the behavior of these animals. A social anthropologist studies the people of the region.

These are just some of the many scientists whose skills and knowledge help the ecologist to complete a picture of the ecosystem.

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