Home Forum Dictionary Articles Tutorials Books Directory Share your work


Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Dictionary » A » Abiotic

Abiotic

Definition

adjective

Nonliving, as in abiotic factor, which is a nonliving physical and chemical attribute of a system, for example light, temperature, wind patterns, rocks, soil, pH, pressure, etc. in an environment.


Supplement

Word origin: a- meaning “not,” “without” + biotic: Gk biōtikós of, pertaining to life.

Related forms: abiosis (noun), abiotically (adjective).
Related phrases: abiotic factor, abiotic stress.

Compare: biotic.


Please contribute to this project, if you have more information about this term feel free to edit this page



Results from our forum


What does an ecologist do?

To reiterate what many have said... Ecology is the study of biotic (all the organisms (plants, animals, bacteria, etc) and their counterparts) and abiotic (non-living, such as the wind, wate, climate, cycles, etc) factors in an environment/ecosystem. But as Rihan says, it is a complex word and ...

See entire post
by ChesneMD
Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:36 pm
 
Forum: Ecology
Topic: What does an ecologist do?
Replies: 5
Views: 4291

Re: Theories - Origin of Life

... evidence to favour one idea over another, although I think that in order to avoid invoking an outside influence, it would have to involve an abiotic Darwinian process (selection) of some sort. For me, a materialistic process seems more likely than a supernatural one. For the origin of species, ...

See entire post
by Gavin
Fri Nov 18, 2011 5:17 pm
 
Forum: Evolution
Topic: Theories - Origin of Life
Replies: 548
Views: 534355

Viral-induced evolution

... "life form". Mindful I do not use life form to assert that they are living, hence the quotations. What I mean is that they could be abiotic precursor to the start of cells. One way this could probably be done is viruses originally being able to infect or fuse with eachother, given ...

See entire post
by ChesneMD
Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:08 pm
 
Forum: Evolution
Topic: Viral-induced evolution
Replies: 6
Views: 3093

Re: Theories - Origin of Life

... falsely named, because we have no reason to believe that what they're doing would ever lead to life — I just call it 'investigator influenced abiotic organic chemistry' — has fallen into the same trap. …… ….The point is, you would take whatever mess prebiotic chemistry gives you and you would ...

See entire post
by scottie
Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:24 pm
 
Forum: Evolution
Topic: Theories - Origin of Life
Replies: 548
Views: 534355

abiotic factors

Abiotic Factors Abiotic, meaning not alive, are nonliving factors that affect living organisms. Environmental factors such habitat (pond, lake, ocean, desert, mountain) or weather such as temperature, cloud cover, rain, snow, ...

See entire post
by Pokie
Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:50 am
 
Forum: Ecology
Topic: abiotic factors
Replies: 3
Views: 9005
View all matching forum results

This page was last modified 07:00, 3 August 2008. This page has been accessed 113,955 times. 
What links here | Related changes | Permanent link