In
biologyBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
,
abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors in the
environmentThe natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof....
. Despite being non-living, abiotic components can impact
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
. Things that were once living but now dead are usually considered
bioticBiotic material or biological derived material is any natural material that is originated from living organisms. Most such materials contain carbon and are capable of decay....
(for example, corpses and spilled
bloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells — such as nutrients and oxygen — and transports waste products away from those same cells....
). However, depending upon the definition, components from living things that are no longer living can be considered part of the biotic or abiotic component.
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In
biologyBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
,
abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors in the
environmentThe natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof....
. Despite being non-living, abiotic components can impact
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
. Things that were once living but now dead are usually considered
bioticBiotic material or biological derived material is any natural material that is originated from living organisms. Most such materials contain carbon and are capable of decay....
(for example, corpses and spilled
bloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells — such as nutrients and oxygen — and transports waste products away from those same cells....
). However, depending upon the definition, components from living things that are no longer living can be considered part of the biotic or abiotic component. Generally, things that were once living are considered part of the biotic component, but body waste such as
fecesFeces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus during defecation.-Etymology:...
,
urineUrine is a liquid waste product of the body secreted by the kidneys by a process of filtration from blood called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous waste compounds, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
(and
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state...
,
oxygenOxygen Oxygen Oxygen (acid, literally "sharp", from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O...
, and
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
from
respirationIn animal physiology, respiration is the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction...
) are considered abiotic because those components were never living in an organism.