The Lion King and Circle of Life

For the last eight years that I have been teaching, one of the methods that I employ to assess understanding of certain concepts or whole course itself whether it is a hardcore management course or science course is film viewing.  The topic of mission and vision can be exemplified by Jerry Mcguirre. Management Control is best shown in Godfather. Human Resources Management can be enjoyed in Devil Wears Prada or Ants.  Ecology with its subtopics can be best viewed in the movie released by Walt Disney in 1994 --- The Lion King. Aside being one of the great films, it produced an award winning song entitled Circle of Life composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice.  

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King

Film viewing is an interesting way of presenting the Ecology Course to the class (particularly at the end of the semester or course) whether intended for high school, undergraduate and even graduate students.



Synopsis (Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/synopsis):

The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands, where a lion rules over the other animals as king. Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), a mandrill, anoints Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Queen Sarabi (Madge Sinclair), and presents him to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock.

Mufasa takes Simba (Johnathan Taylor Thomas) around the Pride Lands, teaching him about the "Circle of Life", the delicate balance affecting all living things. Simba's uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons), who desires the throne for himself, tells him about the elephant graveyard, a place where Mufasa has warned Simba not to go. Simba asks his mother if he can go to the water-hole with his best friend, Nala (Niketa Calame). Their parents agree, but only if Mufasa's majordomo, the hornbill Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), goes with them. Simba and Nala elude Zazu's supervision and go to the graveyard instead. There, the cubs are met by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, spotted hyenas who try to kill them, but they are rescued by Mufasa, who was summoned by Zazu.

Meanwhile, Scar gains the loyalty of the hyenas by claiming that if he becomes king, they'll "never go hungry again." Sometime later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge while the hyenas create a wildebeest stampede. Alerted by Scar, Mufasa races to rescue Simba from the stampede. He saves his son but is left clinging to the edge of a cliff, which results in Scar flinging him into the stampede below, where he is buried into the some of the wildebeests' horns, hits the ground with extreme force, and finally trampled to death by the wildebeest. Simba is convinced by Scar that he himself was responsible for his father's death and goes into exile. Scar once again sends Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill Simba, but he escapes. Scar informs the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede, and that he is assuming the throne as the next in line.

Simba is found unconscious by Timon and Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella), a meerkat-warthog duo who adopt and raise the cub. When Simba has grown into an adult (Matthew Broderick) he is discovered by Nala (Moira Kelly). Simba shows Nala around his home and the two begin to fall in love. Nala then tells him that Scar has turned the Pride Lands into a barren wasteland; she asks Simba to return and take his place as king but Simba refuses. Rafiki arrives and persuades Simba to return to the Pride Lands, aided by Mufasa's presence in the stars.

Once back at Pride Rock, Simba (with Timon, Pumbaa and Nala) is horrified to see the condition of the Pride Lands. After seeing Scar strike his mother, Simba announces his return. In response, Scar tells the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death and corners Simba at the edge of Pride Rock. As Simba dangles over the edge of Pride Rock, Scar whispers to Simba that he killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar to the ground, forcing him to admit the truth to the pride. A raging battle then ensues between the hyenas and the lionesses which results in Simba cornering Scar. Begging for mercy, Scar blames the hyenas for Mufasa's death, but Simba orders Scar to go into exile. Scar pretends to leave but turns to attack Simba, resulting in a final duel. Simba triumphs over his uncle by flipping him over a low cliff. Scar survives the fall but finds himself surrounded by the now-resentful hyenas, who attack and devour him. The film concludes with the Pride Lands turning green with life again and Rafiki presenting Simba and Nala's newborn cub.

Executing the Film Viewig

1.      View the film during class hours to avoid distractions and to enable the faculty in charge to answer some questions that may raise by students.

2.      Before playing the video, provide copies of questionnaire and explain the objective of the activity, working guideline as well as rubric for teachers assessment.

3.      Remind the student to take note of the events/situations presented in the film which are relevant to the study of ecology.

Note; the activity may take around two hours.

Objectives of the Activity

1.      Define ecological niche

2.      Distinguish between ecological niche and habitat

3.      Discuss an organism’s niche and its relationship with other organisms

4.      Explain ecological succession and other relevant ecological concepts in the film

5.      Construct an ecological reflection paper based on the film

Pre-Activity Exercise

Request the students to review basic ecological concepts such as niche, habitat, ecosystem, niche of population in a grassland, biome, ecological interactions among population, ecological balance among others.

Post-Viewing Activity

The ecological reflection paper should include a brief description of the event, a brief explanation of the concepts from ecology that relates to the said event or situation and finally an application of the material to personal experience.

Assessment

Each criterion will be rated to the following scale: 3 --- meets requirements, 2 --- lacks requirements and 1 --- needs improvement.

Criteria	Description	Score
Scope	Includes sufficient number of concepts from the film to allow proper evaluation
Value  of Observation	Includes enough information from real life experience/applications to make the analysis meaningful
Quality of Analyis	Explains rather than describes the ecological phenomenon Applies and interprets film material instead of merely repeating it
Conceptual Understanding	Demonstrates that the student understand the concept presented in the film
Critical  Thinking	Demonstrates that the student critically analyze the situation and use the concepts presented in the film as point of reference
Learning	Demonstrates that the student have learned more about the situation through the activity
Writing	Flows well, readable, proper wors, grammar and mechanics
General considerations	Meets the objectives of the activity

Adapted from: people.westminstercollege.edu/faculty/gday/mgmt433/Reaction%20Paper%20Guidelines.htm

Bioremediation: Use of Microorganisms to Solve Some Environmental Problems

Environmental exposure of toxic chemicals such as PCBs, pesticides, oil, and heavy metals poses significant health risk for humans and other animals. These toxic chemicals not only cause many chronic abnormalities in human beings but may also degrade biodiversity. Bioremediation is one innovative technology that has the potential to alleviate toxic chemical contamination in environment.  These processes are basically an application of energetics and material flow.



Source: http://www.lexic.us/definition-of/bioremediation



Hussain al al., 2009 mentioned  several advantages of bioremediation that have made this technique a preferred technology over other physicochemical methods to remediate contaminated sites. Bioremediation is a natural process that uses microorganisms to utilize a wide range of organic compounds such as carbon and energy source and metabolize them to harmless products, or into carbon dioxide and water in case of complete mineralization. This complete removal of organic pollutants eliminates any future liability associated with treatment and disposal of contaminated material. Bioremediation is often employed on site by enhancing the natural processes of degradation and transformation without causing a major disruption. This eliminates the excavations and transportation of wastes offsite and the potential threats to human health and the environment that can arise during transportation. Onsite treatment of contaminants (bioremediation) with natural attenuation and fewer inputs proves to be less expensive than other technologies that are used for cleanup of hazardous wastes. Although bioremediation appears to be a promising alternative for the remediation of pesticide-contaminated sites, it is still in the developmental phase. It is a research-intensive technology because a large number of microorganisms and toxic compounds are involved in this process. Not all compounds present in the environment are substrates for microbial metabolism; hence, bioremediation is limited to those compounds that are biodegradable. In some cases, partial degradation of a compound may produce metabolites that are more persistent and toxic as compared to the parent compound, which can aggravate the pollution problem. A number of factors also come into play when bioremediation is envisaged to detoxify contaminants at field scale. As such it is necessary to expand the use and successful application of bioremediation , more research is needed to better understand the capability of microorganisms under different environmental conditions. This would help in better designing the engineered systems for remediation of contaminated sites.

Spillage of petroleum hydrocarbons causes significant environmental pollution. Bioremediation is an effective process to remediate petroleum oil contaminant from the ecosystem. In a recent study conducted in 2010 by Mukherjee and Bordoloi,  2011 found out that bacterial consortium consisting of Bacillus subtilis DM-04 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa M and NM strains were seeded to 20% (v/w) petroleum oil-contaminated soil, and bioremediation experiment was carried out for 180 days under laboratory condition. Bacterial consortium showed a significant reduction in total petroleum hydrocarbon level in contaminated soil (76% degradation) as compared to the control soil (3.6% degradation) 180 days post-inoculation. The Gas Chromotography analysis confirmed that bacterial consortium was more effective in degrading the alkane fraction compared to aromatic fraction of crude petroleum oil hydrocarbons in soil. The nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen compounds fraction was least degraded. The reclaimed soil supported the germination and growth of crop plants (C. aretinum and P. mungo). In contrast, seeds could not be germinated in petroleum oil-contaminated soil.

In 2002, Barker and Bryson conducted a study on bioremediation of heavy metals and organic toxicants by composting. The study highlighted that high microbial diversity and activity during composting, due to the abundance of substrates in feedstocks, promotes degradation of xenobiotic organic compounds, such as pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). For composting of contaminated soils, noncontaminated organic matter should be cocomposted with the soils. Metallic pollutants are not degraded during composting but may be converted into organic combinations that have less bioavailability than mineral combinations of the metals. Degradation of organic contaminants in soils is facilitated by addition of composted or raw organic matter, thereby increasing the substrate levels for cometabolism of the contaminants. Similar to the composting of soils in vessels or piles, the on-site addition of organic matter to soils (sheet composting) accelerates degradation of organic pollutants and binds metallic pollutants.

The accumulation of pesticides in the soil environment adversely affects soil health and productivity. Bacterial species (Staphylococcus sp. and Bacillus circulans) isolated from contaminated soil collected from the premises of a pesticide manufacturing industry were able to degrade 72 to 76% of endosulfan (initial endosulfan concentration: 50 mg L - 1 ) in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions in four weeks of incubation (Kumar and  Philip, 2006). Siddique et al. (2003) also isolated some bacterial and fungal species from soil that degraded 84—91% of isomers of endosulfan (initial concentration: 100 mg L _ 1 in 100 mL solution).

To achieve the full potential of bioremediation, efforts should be focused to expand research regarding soil-microbe-contaminant interactions vis-a vis with biotechnological advancement to translate effectively the bench- and pilot-scale findings to field scale.

Genome-derived model for physiological differences in Geobacter during growth on soluble electron acceptors or insoluble Fe(III) oxide. Source: http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/journal/v1/n1/fig_tab/nrmicro731_F4.html

References:

Barker, A.V. and Gretchen M. B.(2002). Bioremediation of Heavy Metals and Organic Toxicants by Composting. The Scientific World Journal, 2, 407-420. Retrieved from http://www.umass.edu/umext/soilsandplant/PDF%20Files/Barker%20PDF/MiniReview.pdf

Hussain, S., Siddique, T., Arsad, M.and Saleem, M. (2009). Bioremediation and Phytoremediation of Pesticides: Recent Advances. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 39, 843-907.

Kumar, M., and Philip, L. (2006). Bioremediation of endosulfan contaminated soil and water-optimization of operating conditions in laboratory scale reactors. Journal Hazardous Materials, 136, 354-364.

Mukherjee, A., and Bordoloi, N.. (2011). Bioremediation and reclamation of soil contaminated with petroleum oil hydrocarbons by exogenously seeded bacterial consortium: a pilot-scale study. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 18(3), 471-478.  Retrieved February 22, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2269257671).

Siddique, T., Okeke, B.C., Arshad, M., and Frankenberger, W.T. (2003). Enrichment and isolation of endosulfan-degrading microorganisms. Journal of Environmental Quality, 32, 47-54.

Sa Paglipas ng Panahon

Sa pagdaan ng mga araw, ninanais ko na makapiling ang aking inay. Tumatakbo ang panahon na hindi ko namamalayan and pag tanda ni Nanay. Dati rati, mabilis siyang kumilos. Ngayon ang bawat hakbang niya ay nangangailangan ng buong lakas.. Ayaw ko siyang mawala na di ko naipapakita ang aking pag-aaruga… pagkalinga… pagmamahal…

Tuwing biyernes ng hapon, nagmamadali akong pumunta sa bus station patungong Laguna. Kahit napila at nakakapagod, tinitiis ko para makauwi ako at mapasalubungan ng paboritong Mamunluk siopao si Nanay. Napunta pa ako ng Quezon City para bumili. Matagal na kasing sarado and branch ng Manunluk sa Quiapo. Dahil nagtitipid ako at para na rin sa kalikasan, nag bubus ako. Di ko ginagamit an gaming sasakyan. Tutal naman, nag-iisa lang ako. Mas tipid.. libre driver pa…

Buti na lang, puno agad ang bus. Sa ganap na alas dos ng hapon, binabagtas  ko na ang kahabaan ng South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). Ewan ko ba, karaniwan kasi tulog ako. Sa ngayong pagkakataon, mulat na mulat ang aking mata at pinagmamasdan ang kahabaan ng SLEX. Haayyy. Ngayon ko lang napagmasdan, napakarami ng pagbabago. And dating luntiang palayan, aba’y theme park na… bahayan… gasolinahan… may skul…. Lalo na ng binagtas naming ang SLEX Calamba papuntang Sto. Tomas. Ala eh kay daming nasirang puno… parang disyerto sa gitna ng bundok… talagang kakaiba… Oo nga naman.. Sa ngalan ng pagbabago, kahit masira ng walang pakundangan ang kapaligiran at tirahan ng mga hayop at insekto. Sa totoo lang, inaabangan ko na may makita akong uwak o kaya ay tagak. Naku po… wala akong makitang lumilipad sa palayan. Pero may mangilan ngilan ng maya… Eto pa lang yung nakikita ko … eh paano na yung mga natural inhabitant ng lugar. Di kaya sila na displace at may bagong ng uri o species ng mga insekto at ibon?  Kung nasira ang kanilang tirahan, may bago na bang tumira.? Ang daming tanong na gumugulo sa isip ko.

…. May pag-aaral bang ginawa tungkol dito?

          …. May follow up studies ba?

                   …. May inventory at monitoring ba ng species?

                             … May mitigating measures ba?

… Kung nasissira ang kapaligiran, ano eng epekto nito sa kultura?

Ewan di ko masagot. Nagmumuni habang ng hmmmnnn ako ng sikat na kanta ng Asin --- Masdan mo ang Kapaligiran. Di ko namalayan at nakatulog na ako… At nagising sa sigaw ng konductor ---- San Pablo Na , San Pablo… Home sweet home na pala ako… Makikita ko uli si Nanay. Hapi Yipee Yehey!    

A Simple Experiment on Unicellular Growth Kinetics Exemplifying Simple Life History

Objective: To determine the growth kinetics of non-pathogenic strain Escherichia coli

Materials:

Pure culture of non-pathogenic strain Escherichia coli

Wire loop

Bunsen burner

Sterile Plate count agar, PCA (slant/plate)

Incubator (35 ⁰C)

Alcohol as sanitizer

Methods:

1.      Obtain pure culture non-pathogenic strain Escherichia coli

2.      Transfer aseptically a loopful of non-pathogenic strain Escherichia coli to a sterile plate count agar slant.

3.      Incubate at 35 ⁰C for 20 minutes.

4.      Pour plate the culture. Note: This  will be the initial population of the culture. Dilute serially using replicate at 10¹ up 10⁶

5.      Incubate the plates.

6.      Incubate further the slant for 1, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72 and 78 hours.

7.      Pour plate the culture as stated in Step 4 for every time interval as mentioned in Step 6. Incubate the plates for each time interval.

8.      Log the results using the Table below. Consider the colonies with 25 to 250 cfu/ml. How many viable bacteria are there in your sample?

Time	Dilution Factor	Plate Counts (CFU)	Average Plate Count (CFU)	Nunber of living cells in the culture
20 minutes
1 hour
6 hours
12 hours
18 hours
24 hours
...
78 hours

                                                                                                        

9.   Graph the results of the experiment, put time (in minutes) on the x-axis and numbers of living bacteria on the y-axis (log).

10.  Calculate a growth rate and generation time using this formula:

k= [log (xt) - log (x0)] / 0.301 * t

k= the number of population doublings in one hour (called the growth rate constant)

x0= the number of cells/milliliter at the beginning of the log phase

xt= the number of cells/ml at some later time

t= the number of hours between the beginning and the later time

1/k= the Generation Time (the amount of time it takes for a population to double in number)        

Upon plotting, the theoretical results will appear as:

Source of illustration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_growth

i.        During lag phase, the E.coli cells adapt and adjust themselves to growth conditions. It is the period where the microbial cells are maturing and not yet able to divide. This is the period in bacterial growth cycle wherein DNA, RNA, enzymes and other molecules occurs.

ii.      Log phase is a period characterized by cell doubling. The number of new bacteria appearing per unit time is proportional to the present population. Exponential growth cannot continue indefinitely, however, because the medium is soon depleted of nutrients and waste accumulation occurs.

iii.    The growth rate slows during stationary phase as a result of nutrient depletion and accumulation of toxic products. This phase is reached as the bacteria begin to exhaust the resources that are available to them. It is said that rate of bacterial growth is equal to the rate of bacterial death during stationary phase

iv.    At death phase, bacteria run out of nutrients and die.