EOV Editorial Board

Why are there only crumbs left at the bottom of the cereal box? Many factors, such as package handling, have caused the cereal pieces to break down into crumbs. This explanation is also related to the process of creating sediment from rocks. Sediment is created by weathering over millions of years, and it is deposited all over the world by erosion. The We're Gonna Crush It! activity serves as a brief introduction to sediment composition. Students learn how sediment is created by demonstrating weathering at a much quicker pace than what occurs under natural conditions. They see firsthand how weathering affects rocks by mirroring the process using cereal to make “sediment.” The students learn how to calculate grain size percentages to determine the overall composition of the sediment while becoming more aware of the organisms and organic matter that are also present. In less than 60 min, students can experience a large-scale process that generally occurs over millions of years. Several Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core Math Standards, and Ocean Literacy Standards are addressed in this activity.     

The Use of the Microcomposter to Study the Dynamics of a Mini-Ecosystem

In this activity, students learn about the important topic of invasive species, specifically Zebra Mussels. Students role-play different characters in a real-life situation: the trial of the Zebra Mussel for unlawful disruption of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Students will also learn about jurisprudential inquiry by examining the trial process. This activity will reinforce important knowledge and skills underscored in the Life Science and Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards in the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council 1996).     

Actinobacteria—An Ancient Phylum Active in Volcanic Rock Weathering

A molecular biological analysis of Icelandic volcanic rocks of different compositions and glassiness revealed the presence of Actinobacteria as an abundant phylum. In outcrops of basaltic glass they were the dominant bacterial phylum. A diversity of Actinobacteria were cultured from the rocks on rock-agar plates showing that they are capable of growing on rock-derived nutrient sources and that many of the taxa identified by molecular methods are viable, potentially active members of the community. Laboratory batch-culture experiments using a Streptomyces isolate showed that it was capable of enhancing the release of major elements from volcanic rocks, including weathered basaltic glass, crystalline basalt and komatiite, when provided with a carbon source. Actinobacteria of a variety of other sub-orders were also capable of enhancing volcanic rock weathering, measured as Si release. However, most strains did not significantly increase the weathering of the silica-rich rock, obsidian. These data show that Actinobacteria can contribute to volcanic rock weathering and, therefore, the carbonate-silicate cycle. Given their ancient lineage, it is likely they have played a role in rock weathering for over two billion years.     

An interview with Olivia Gude about connecting school and community arts practice

ABSTRACT

Olivia Gude has a long and distinguished career as both a public artist and an art educator. She is currently the Angela Gregory Paterakis Professor and Chair of Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where she works with graduate and undergraduate students to prepare for working as artist educators in school and community settings. Her scholarly work includes a number of articles and book chapters about art education and community art. Prof. Gude has worked as a community public artist for many years and has created over 30 large-scale mural and mosaic projects, working with intergenerational groups, teens, elders, and children. I interviewed Prof. Gude at the SAIC building in downtown Chicago to discuss how her school, university, and community art engagement as well as her work with the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, might offer suggestions for transforming arts education for the twenty-first century and provide authentic connections between school and community. Prof. Gude discusses important enduring understandings and big ideas from the new Visual Arts National Core Arts Standards, the Spiral Workshop youth art and research project she created while at University of Illinois at Chicago, and how her experience as a community artist informs her work with students in classroom settings.     

Plant-microbe-soil interactions in the rhizosphere: an evolutionary perspective

Soils are the product of the activities of plants, which supply organic matter and play a pivotal role in weathering rocks and minerals. Many plant species have a distinct ecological amplitude that shows restriction to specific soil types. In the numerous interactions between plants and soil, microorganisms also play a key role. Here we review the existing literature on interactions between plants, microorganisms and soils, and include considerations of evolutionary time scales, where possible. Some of these interactions involve intricate systems of communication, which in the case of symbioses such as the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis are several hundreds of millions years old; others involve the release of exudates from roots, and other products of rhizodeposition that are used as substrates for soil microorganisms. The possible reasons for the survival value of this loss of carbon over tens or hundreds of millions of years of evolution of higher plants are discussed, taking a cost-benefit approach. Co-evolution of plants and rhizosphere microorganisms is discussed, in the light of known ecological interactions between various partners in terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, the role of higher plants, especially deep-rooted plants and associated microorganisms in the weathering of rocks and minerals, ultimately contributing to pedogenesis, is addressed. We show that rhizosphere processes in the long run are central to biogeochemical cycles, soil formation and Earth history. Major anticipated discoveries will enhance our basic understanding and allow applications of new knowledge to deal with nutrient deficiencies, pests and diseases, and the challenges of increasing global food production and agroecosystem productivity in an environmentally responsible manner.     

Evaluating the effects of terrestrial ecosystems, climate and carbon dioxide on weathering over geological time: a global-scale process-based approach

Global weathering of calcium and magnesium silicate rocks provides the long-term sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) on a timescale of millions of years by causing precipitation of calcium carbonates on the seafloor. Catchment-scale field studies consistently indicate that vegetation increases silicate rock weathering, but incorporating the effects of trees and fungal symbionts into geochemical carbon cycle models has relied upon simple empirical scaling functions. Here, we describe the development and application of a process-based approach to deriving quantitative estimates of weathering by plant roots, associated symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi and climate. Our approach accounts for the influence of terrestrial primary productivity via nutrient uptake on soil chemistry and mineral weathering, driven by simulations using a dynamic global vegetation model coupled to an ocean-atmosphere general circulation model of the Earth's climate. The strategy is successfully validated against observations of weathering in watersheds around the world, indicating that it may have some utility when extrapolated into the past. When applied to a suite of six global simulations from 215 to 50 Ma, we find significantly larger effects over the past 220 Myr relative to the present day. Vegetation and mycorrhizal fungi enhanced climate-driven weathering by a factor of up to 2. Overall, we demonstrate a more realistic process-based treatment of plant fungal-geosphere interactions at the global scale, which constitutes a first step towards developing 'next-generation' geochemical models.     

Terrestrial surface stabilisation by modern analogues of the earliest land plants: A multi-dimensional imaging study

The evolution of the first plant-based terrestrial ecosystems in the early Palaeozoic had a profound effect on the development of soils, the architecture of sedimentary systems, and shifts in global biogeochemical cycles. In part, this was due to the evolution of complex below-ground (root-like) anchorage systems in plants, which expanded and promoted plant–mineral interactions, weathering, and resulting surface sediment stabilisation. However, little is understood about how these micro-scale processes occurred, because of a lack of in situ plant fossils in sedimentary rocks/palaeosols that exhibit these interactions. Some modern plants (e.g., liverworts, mosses, lycophytes) share key features with the earliest land plants; these include uni- or multicellular rhizoid-like anchorage systems or simple roots, and the ability to develop below-ground networks through prostrate axes, and intimate associations with fungi, making them suitable analogues. Here, we investigated cryptogamic ground covers in Iceland and New Zealand to better understand these interactions, and how they initiate the sediment stabilisation process. We employed multi-dimensional and multi-scale imaging, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Computed Tomography (μCT) of non-vascular liverworts (Haplomitriopsida and complex thalloids) and mosses, with additional imaging of vascular lycopods. We find that plants interact with their substrate in multiple ways, including: (1) through the development of extensive surface coverings as mats; (2) entrapment of sediment grains within and between networks of rhizoids; (3) grain entwining and adherence by rhizoids, through mucilage secretions, biofilm-like envelopment of thalli on surface grains; and (4) through grain entrapment within upright ‘leafy’ structures. Significantly, μCT imaging allows us to ascertain that rhizoids are the main method for entrapment and stabilisation of soil grains in the thalloid liverworts. This information provides us with details of how the earliest land plants may have significantly influenced early Palaeozoic sedimentary system architectures, promoted in situ weathering and proto-soil development, and how these interactions diversified over time with the evolution of new plant organ systems. Further, this study highlights the importance of cryptogamic organisms in the early stages of sediment stabilisation and soil formation today.     

The effect of rock composition on cyanobacterial weathering of crystalline basalt and rhyolite

The weathering of volcanic rocks contributes significantly to the global silicate weathering budget, effecting carbon dioxide drawdown and long‐term climate control. The rate of chemical weathering is influenced by the composition of the rock. Rock‐dwelling micro‐organisms are known to play a role in changing the rate of weathering reactions; however, the influence of rock composition on bio‐weathering is unknown. Cyanobacteria are known to be a ubiquitous surface taxon in volcanic rocks. In this study, we used a selection of fast and slow growing cyanobacterial species to compare microbial‐mediated weathering of bulk crystalline rocks of basaltic and rhyolitic composition, under batch conditions. Cyanobacterial growth caused an increase in the pH of the medium and an acceleration of rock dissolution compared to the abiotic controls. For example, Anabaena cylindrica increased the linear release rate () of Ca, Mg, Si and K from the basalt by more than fivefold (5.21–12.48) and increased the pH of the medium by 1.9 units. Although A. cylindrica enhanced rhyolite weathering, the increase in was less than threefold (2.04–2.97) and the pH increase was only 0.83 units. The values obtained with A. cylindrica were at least ninefold greater with the basalt than the rhyolite, whereas in the abiotic controls, the difference was less than fivefold. Factors accounting for the slower rate of rhyolite weathering and lower biomass achieved are likely to include the higher content of quartz, which has a low rate of weathering and lower concentrations of bio‐essential elements, such as, Ca, Fe and Mg, which are known to be important in controlling cyanobacterial growth. We show that at conditions where weathering is favoured, biota can enhance the difference between low and high Si‐rock weathering. Our data show that cyanobacteria can play a significant role in enhancing rock weathering and likely have done since they evolved on the early Earth.     

Scoyenia burrows from Ordovician palaeosols of the Juniata Formation in Pennsylvania

Scoyenia beerboweri is a new ichnospecies of burrow from the late Ordovician (Ashgill) Juniata Formation in central Pennsylvania, USA. The burrows are abundant in red calcareous palaeosols, and were created by animals living at the time of soil formation, because they are filled with red sediment like that of the palaeosol matrix, and both cut across, and are cut by, nodules of pedogenic carbonate. The isotopically light carbon and oxygen of carbonate in the palaeosols indicate a terrestrial ecosystem of well-drained floodplains in a tropical seasonally-dry semi-arid palaeoclimate. Backfill layering within the burrows is evidence of a bilaterally symmetrical animal. Size distribution of the burrows reveals discontinuous growth, as found in arthropods. Ferruginized faecal pellets in the burrows indicate that they ingested sediment. For these reasons the burrows of Scoyenia beerboweri are most likely to be the work of millipedes. The nature of vegetation supporting them is unknown, although a single problematic plant-like fossil cast was found, and liverwort spores are widespread in rocks of this age. Vegetative biomass was limited judging from the degree of chemical weathering, extent of burial gleization and isotopic composition of carbon in the palaeosols. These distinctive respiration-dominated liverwort-millipede polsterlands lived at a time of global greenhouse climate, following Precambrian–Cambrian lichen-algal microbial earths and supplanted by Silurian brakelands of early vascular land plants.     

Increased yield and CO2 sequestration potential with the C4 cereal Sorghum bicolor cultivated in basaltic rock dust‐amended agricultural soil

Land‐based enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is a biogeochemical carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy aiming to accelerate natural geological processes of carbon sequestration through application of crushed silicate rocks, such as basalt, to croplands and forested landscapes. However, the efficacy of the approach when undertaken with basalt, and its potential co‐benefits for agriculture, require experimental and field evaluation. Here we report that amending a UK clay‐loam agricultural soil with a high loading (10 kg/m²) of relatively coarse‐grained crushed basalt significantly increased the yield (21 ± 9.4%, SE) of the important C₄ cereal Sorghum bicolor under controlled environmental conditions, without accumulation of potentially toxic trace elements in the seeds. Yield increases resulted from the basalt treatment after 120 days without P‐ and K‐fertilizer addition. Shoot silicon concentrations also increased significantly (26 ± 5.4%, SE), with potential benefits for crop resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. Elemental budgets indicate substantial release of base cations important for inorganic carbon removal and their accumulation mainly in the soil exchangeable pools. Geochemical reactive transport modelling, constrained by elemental budgets, indicated CO₂ sequestration rates of 2–4 t CO₂/ha, 1–5 years after a single application of basaltic rock dust, including via newly formed soil carbonate minerals whose long‐term fate requires assessment through field trials. This represents an approximately fourfold increase in carbon capture compared to control plant–soil systems without basalt. Our results build support for ERW deployment as a CDR technique compatible with spreading basalt powder on acidic loamy soils common across millions of hectares of western European and North American agriculture.     

The carbon cycle and carbon dioxide over Phanerozoic time: the role of land plants

A model (GEOCARB) of the long-term, or multimillion year, carbon cycle has been constructed which includes quantitative treatment of (1) uptake of atmospheric CO₂ by the weathering of silicate and carbonate rocks on the continents, and the deposition of carbonate minerals and organic matter in oceanic sediments; and (2) the release of CO₂ to the atmosphere via the weathering of kerogen in sedimentary rocks and degassing resulting from the volcanic-metamorphic-diagenetic breakdown of carbonates and organic matter at depth. Sensitivity analysis indicates that an important factor affecting CO₂ was the rise of vascular plants in the Palaeozoic. A large Devonian drop in CO₂ was brought about primarily by the acceleration of weathering of silicate rock by the development of deeply rooted plants in well-drained upland soils. The quantitative effect of this accelerated weathering has been crudely estimated by present-day field studies where all factors affecting weathering, other than the presence or absence of vascular plants, have been held relatively constant. An important additional factor, bringing about a further CO₂ drop into the Carboniferous and Permian, was enhanced burial of organic matter in sediments, due probably to the production of microbially resistant plant remains (e.g. lignin). Phanerozoic palaeolevels of atmospheric CO₂ calculated from the GEOCARB model generally agree with independent estimates based on measurements of the carbon isotopic composition of palaeosols and the stomatal index for fossil plants. Correlation of CO₂ levels with estimates of palaeoclimate suggests that the atmospheric greenhouse effect has been a major factor in controlling global climate over the past 600 million years.     

Field experiments with spring barley resistant to cereal cyst nematode, 1965–1968

Two bulk populations of spring barley lines differing in respect of a single dominant gene for cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae) resistance were used in trials over 4 years to assess the effect of the nematode on grain yield. On an infested site the resistant lines consistently and significantly out-yielded the susceptible lines by an average of 9 % over the 4 years. On non-infested sites, there was no difference in yield between the resistant and susceptible lines. To measure changes in the cereal cyst nematode population under continuous barley cultivation, the resistant and susceptible lines were each sown at the infested site on the same plots for 4 consecutive years. The cereal cyst nematode population declined under both susceptible and resistant barley, but more rapidly under the latter. Migratory nematodes, mostly Pratylenchus minyus, were latterly prevalent on all plots. There was no detectable change in the pathogenicity of the cereal cyst nematode population after 3 years of growing resistant barley.     

The role of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campsurus notatus</Emphasis> (Ephemeroptera: Polymitarcytidae) bioturbation and sediment quality on potential gas fluxes in a tropical lake

About 30% of the total area of Lake Batata (Amazon) was impacted by the disposal of bauxite tailings originated from the process of washing bauxite. This effluent, composed by fine particles of clay and water, settled on top of the natural sediment, originating a new substratum with a different physical and chemical composition. This phenomenon created a new distinct habitat (impacted sediment) influencing the benthic community. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of bioturbation by Campsurus notatus (Ephemeroptera: Polymitarcytidae) on potential gas fluxes in the sediment of natural and impacted areas of the lake. The natural sediment had a significantly higher methane concentration when compared to the impacted one. In incubated sediment cores, the presence of C. notatus nymphs resulted in a significant increase in oxygen consumption and methane and carbon dioxide release to the water column. The effect of the presence of nymphs on methane was ambiguous. The C. notatus nymphs strongly decreased methane concentration in natural sediment samples, probably because of the enhancement of the oxic sediment area. However, this effect was not observed in impacted samples. Finally, the new substratum of Lake Batata decreased methane concentration in sediment and water column. C. notatus nymphs demonstrated to have a significant role on gas flux (methane and CO₂) from sediment to water column as well as on oxygen consumption in Lake Batata, consequently influencing the carbon cycle in this lake. Handling editor: S. M. Thomaz     

不同风化年限碳酸岩风化壳真菌群落结构特征

【目的】岩生真菌是促进碳酸岩生物风化的重要推动者,研究黔中典型喀斯特区不同风化年限碳酸岩风化壳真菌群落结构特征有利于了解真菌对岩石的风化作用。【方法】选取位于黔中花溪区南部的废弃碳酸岩墓碑为调查对象,对不同风化年限碳酸岩风化壳进行采样,运用宏基因组测序方法对风化壳样品进行基因测序,并利用统计学方法对真菌群落结构特征及功能特征进行分析。【结果】18个风化壳样品中共获得1087种真菌,分属于9个门、44纲、538属。不同样本之间真菌群落数量和组成差异较大,在碳酸岩风化过程中,子囊菌门(Ascomycota)始终为优势类群,平均相对丰度达到95%以上,随风化年限的增加呈现显著下降的趋势。Shannon指数和Simpson指数显示,碳酸岩风化壳真菌群落多样性随风化年限的增加呈现先减小后增加再减小的趋势。从所有样本中共检测出3 379 478个KEGG pathway level 3通路相关基因,主要与物质能量的代谢、运输等功能相关。与碳循环、氮循环和硫循环相关的主要微生物属于子囊菌门,随着风化年限的增加呈现下降的趋势。冗余分析(redundancyanalysis,RDA)结果表明,三氧化二铁...     

How plants changed the world: Using qualitative reasoning to explain plant macroevolution's effect on the long-term carbon cycle

We present a qualitative reasoning model of how plant colonization of land during the mid Paleozoic era (450–300 million years ago) altered the long-term carbon cycle resulting in a dramatic decrease in global atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. This model is aimed at facilitating learning and communication about how interactions between biological and geological processes drove system behavior. The model is developed in three submodels of the main system components, namely how competition for limited land habitat drove natural selection for increasing adaptations to life on land; how these adaptations resulted in increased formation of organic-rich sedimentary rocks (coal); and how these adaptations altered weathering of calcium and magnesium silicate rocks, resulting in increased deposition of inorganic carbonates in oceans. These separate submodels are then assembled to derive the full dynamic model of plant macroevolution, colonization of land, and plummeting carbon dioxide levels that occurred during the mid Paleozoic. The qualitative reasoning framework supports explicit representation of causal feedbacks — as with previously developed systems analysis models — but also supports simulation of system dynamics arising from the configuration of entities in the system. The ability of qualitative reasoning to provide causal accounts (explanations) of why certain phenomena occurred and when, is a powerful advantage over numerical simulation such as the complex GEOCARB models, where explanation must be left to interpretation by experts.     

Low‐cost grass restoration using erosion barriers in a degraded African rangeland

Rangeland degradation, typified by extensive bare ground and soil erosion, is a serious problem around the world. In sub‐Saharan Africa, rangeland degradation threatens the food security of millions of people who depend on livestock and the region's large mammalian wildlife diversity. We tested the ability of five simple, low‐cost erosion barriers to promote grass and forb establishment in a bare ground‐dominated rangeland in Kenya. These treatments were: (1) trenches with small berms; (2) bundles of branches; and bundles of branches with (3) elephant dung balls, (4) burlap sacking, or (5) nylon mesh sacking inside them. We also tested whether barrier performance depended on (1) supplemental seeding with the grass Cenchrus ciliaris and (2) whether a barrier was located next to existing vegetation patches versus in the open. Within months, the trench and nylon mesh barriers had accumulated 20–50% more sediment than other treatments and had greater grass and forb seedling establishment. Seeding with Cenchrus resulted in higher herbaceous cover but was not necessary for other grasses to establish. After 3 years, the trench and nylon mesh barriers had created patches of new vegetation averaging 18–63% larger than patches created by the other treatments. Barriers that were initially adjacent to existing vegetation had created new vegetation patches averaging 65% larger than those created by solitary barriers. Results suggest that all barrier types increase grass cover but that trenches—especially if placed next to existing vegetation patches—are a particularly cost‐effective way to reduce bare ground and erosion in degraded rangelands.     

Organic acids,siderophores, enzymes and mechanical pressure for black slate bioweathering with the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune

Although many fungi are known to be able to perform bioweathering of rocks and minerals, little information is available concerning the role of basidiomycetes in this process. The wood-rotting basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune was investigated for its ability to degrade black slate, a rock rich in organic carbon. Mechanical pressure of hyphae and extracellular polymeric substances was investigated for biophysical weathering. A mixed ß1-3/ß1-6 glucan, likely schizophyllan that is well known from S. commune, could be identified on black slate surfaces. Secretion of siderophores and organic acids as biochemical weathering agents was shown. Both may contribute to biochemical weathering in addition to enzymatic functions. Previously, the exoenzyme laccase was believed to attack organic the matter within the black slate, thereby releasing metals from the rock. Here, overexpression of laccase showed enhanced dissolution of quartz phases by etching and pitting. At the same time, the formation of a new secondary mineral phase, whewellite, could be demonstrated. Hence, a more comprehensive understanding of biophysical as well as biochemical weathering by S. commune could be reached and unexpected mechanisms like quartz dissolution linked to shale degradation.     

Differences in Sediment Organic Matter Composition and PAH Weathering between Non-Vegetated and Recently Vegetated Fuel Oiled Sediments

We examined polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) attenuation in contaminated field sediments after only 2 years of plant growth. We collected sediments from vegetated and non-vegetated areas at the Indiana Harbor Canal (IHC), an industrialized area with historic petroleum contamination of soils and sediments. PAH concentrations, PAH weathering indices, and organic matter composition in sediments colonized by Phragmites, cattails, or willow trees were compared to the same indices for non-vegetated sediments. We hypothesized that bulk sediment and humin fractions with measurable increases in plant organic matter content would show measurable changes to PAH attenuation as indicated by more weathered PAH diagnostic ratios or reduced PAH concentrations. Carbon-normalized PAH concentrations were lower in vegetated bulk sediments but higher in vegetated humin fractions relative to non-vegetated sediment fractions. Total organic carbon content was not indicative of more weathered N₃/P₂ ratios or reduced PAH concentrations in vegetated sediment fractions. More weathered N₃/P₂ ratios were observed with increased modern carbon (plant carbon) content of vegetated sediment fractions. Phragmites sediments contained more modern carbon (plant carbon) and more weathered PAH ratios [C₃-naphthalenes and C₂-phenanthrenes (N₃/P₂)] than willow, cattail, and non-vegetated sediments.     

Microbial communities from weathered outcrops of a sulfide-rich ultramafic intrusion,and implications for mine waste management

The Duluth Complex (DC) contains sulfide-rich magmatic intrusions that represent one of the largest known economic deposits of copper, nickel, and platinum group elements. Previous work showed that microbial communities associated with experimentally-weathered DC waste rock and tailings were dominated by uncultivated taxa and organisms not typically associated with mine waste. However, those experiments were designed for kinetic testing and do not necessarily represent the conditions expected for long-term environmental weathering. We used 16S rRNA gene methods to characterize the microbial communities present on the surfaces of naturally-weathered and historically disturbed outcrops of DC material. Rock surfaces were dominated by diverse uncultured Ktedonobacteria, Acetobacteria, and Actinobacteria, with abundant algae and other phototrophs. These communities were distinct from microbial assemblages from experimentally-weathered DC rocks, suggesting different energy and nutrient resources in environmental samples. Sulfide mineral incubations performed with and without algae showed that photosynthetic microorganisms could have an inhibitory effect on autotrophic populations, resulting in slightly lower sulfate release and differences in dominant microorganisms. The microbial assemblages from these weathered outcrops show how communities develop during weathering of sulfide-rich DC rocks and represent baseline data that could evaluate the effectiveness of future reclamation of waste produced by large-scale mining operations.     

A Natural History of You

High school biology is typically taught with an emphasis on human biology. The human body is broken down into distinct systems without regard to the origins of its parts. As a result, students are left with the impression that our biology is incredibly unique as opposed to a consequence of conservative replication and the retention of traits over millions of years. Here, I present a brief example of how the practice of phylogenetic systematics affects how we identify ourselves, and I pay homage to a particular section of our evolutionary legacy that joins all animals great and small with an interactive laboratory exercise.