week 8

Assalamualaikum and hey everyone!!!!

This week we are studies on the topic about the Atmospheric habitat. The same topic with my Thinglink (https://www.thinglink.com/scene/647784953760710657) and I found that there are many things that I didn't know yet. Personally I really like on the atmosphere because there are many microorganisms in it which we cannot see with our naked eyes. From what I learnt atmosphere consist of 6 region Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere and Ionosphere.  Before the class start, we must do an exercise provided by one of the groups in our class. The video is very nice and gives me more understanding in this topic. This topic is really interesting because I got to know one beneficial and awesome bacteria which is can turn water into an ice. This ice nucleating bacteria is Pseudomonas syringae. For Friday, we go into the Human Body Ecosystem. Like usual before coming to the class we must do an online exercise provided by a group that have been choosen that topic. I like the way their presenting the quizzes, its interesting and doesn't look boring.. In the class, we only go through a bit on this topic and will be continued next week. That's all from me. ^_^

Week 7

Assalamualaikum !!! we meet again in week 7.

For this week we continue our lecture on the Microorganism in the Terrestrial Ecosystem. There are 4 types of microbe plant interactions which is epiphytes( microbes that live on the surface of plants), endophytes(microbes that colonize internal plant tissues), some microbes live in the aboveground and also some microbes that inhibit below ground plant tissue.

The role of microbes in Rhizosphere and Rhizoplane(surface of root)

• labile source of nutrients, creating microbial loop
• synthesis and degradation of organic matter
• promote plant growth
• associate in nitrogen fixation

Microbial loop

Mycorrhizae

• a mutualistic plant-associations 
• there are two types of mychorrhizae association which is endomycorrhizae and ectomycorrhizae.
• important to plant

soil population - protozoa

3 general function of soil protozoa

1. Mineralizing nutrients
2. Regulating bacteria populations
3. Food source

Next, we study on the Hydrosphere. Before we go for a lecture on Thursday, we must do some exercise that has been provided by group 4. 

Here are the exercise that we do:

Explanation in thinglink. Very creative!!!

They even make a mind map for us. Thank you

Then, we do a crossword and its really challenging.

Hydrosphere also part of microbial habitat. Two types of microorganism can be found are autochthonous (indigenous) and allochthonous (foreign). The important physical factor in Hydrosphere is dissolved oxygen content, temperature, pH and also light penetration.

1. light - determine the rate of photosynthesis
2. temperature - determine by the latitude and weather condition, large body water will be more stable in temperature.
3. pressure - important in ocean, increases 1 atm with each 10 m in depth.
4. nutrient - varies in ocean 
5. dissolved gas - oxygen (for aerobic) & carbon dioxide (for photosynthetic process)

Here I include the video on how eutrophication can occur hope it useful.. ^_^

Salt marshes, its unlike the estuaries it lack of freshwater input from a single river. Salt marsh ecosystems can be modeled in Winogradsky columns.

Thats all from me..hehe 

week 6

Assalamualaikum and hye everyone!!!!

Now it's already week 6!! for the Monday class we study on the topic of Microbial Interactions. We finish up this topic on Monday.

This the overall and basic knowledge that we should know about every interaction around us. After finishing the lecture we have a quiz on this topic. So Dr. Wan give us 9 question and answer it on the spot.

Before we start our class on Thursday, we do a flipped classroom activities on Popplet and VoiceThread. Thanks to group 4 who provide us with this interesting learning tools for this week. Its very helpful, you can learnt and hear the lecture while doing something else like cleaning up your room or something else. They already provide us a mind map in popplet and explained it more detail in the VoiceThread.

mindmap in the popplet

Flipped classroom in VoiceThread

For the next day which is Thursday, we started new topic on Microorganism in terrestrial ecosystems. Terrestrial ecosystem also known as the Lithosphere. The most important lithosphere is the soil. Soil contained of various type of organic and inorganic components. Soil is a microbial habitat and it is a very complex and contain large variety of habitats in it. As a result microbial diversity in soils is greater than in the aquatic diversity. Soil consist of 4 different layer which is the Topsoil, subsoil, parent soil and bedrock.

The soil layer.

The soil organic Matter (SOM) is the one that would retained the soil nutrients, maintain the soil structure, helps in hold the water for plant use and the level of SOM is depending on the environment conditions and agricultural management practices. There are two categories of soil which is mineral soil and organic soil.

Physicochemical condition which would affect the microbial populations

1. surface
2. water (moisture)
3. temperature
4. acidity and alkalinity
5. soil atmosphere

After finish the lecture we must sit in a group for a group work. We must find what possible microorganism may have in the different layer of soil and submit it in the blendspace. 

Thats all.. ^_^