Which term identifies the living and interacting component of an ecosystem?

The term that identifies the living and interacting components of an ecosystem is "biotic factor." Biotic factors include all the organisms in an environment, such as plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, that interact with one another and their physical environment. These interactions can involve relationships such as predation, competition, symbiosis, and mutualism, all of which play crucial roles in the structure and function of ecosystems.

Abiotic factors, on the other hand, refer to the non-living components of the ecosystem, such as temperature, water, soil, and sunlight, which also affect living organisms but are not considered part of the living aspect. The terms "inorganic component" and "biological element" are not standard terminology in ecology for describing living aspects and do not adequately capture the interaction among living entities in an ecosystem. Thus, recognizing biotic factors as the living components is essential for understanding ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity.