Ecosystems are changed by both biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are all living things or their materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism in its environment. Biotic factors include organisms, their presence or parts, their interaction with the ecosystem, or their wastes. Additionally, parasitism, disease, and predation are considered biotic factors. Abiotic factors are factors of a non-living physical and chemical nature that affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce. These factors include light intensity, temperature, soil or rock type, pH levels, available water supplies, gasses, and pollutant levels (Bush, 2002).

Both types of factors change the equilibrium, but in different ways. For example, any change in temperature, an abiotic factor, may not only affect the ecosystem in general, but also affect the biotic factors in the ecosystem, such as aiding in the production of a given species. This species may then become overabundant, which can...
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