Lion King Ecological Succession

Cassandra Nguyen

Biology 1

Ms. Coleman

September 23, 2015

The Lion King

One way the community in Lion King can be changed is by ecological succession. Ecological succession consist of primary and secondary succession, but I am only going to talk about secondary succession. Secondary succession is a result of a disturbance which changes an existing community without removing the soil. Secondary succession occurs in The Lion King when Scar is king, near the end when Simba is king, and it also happens in the real world.

Secondary succession occurred while Simba was trying to take back the throne. In the progress of doing so, a fire started. The fire caused the vegetation to burn, which would lead to secondary succession. This will change the

community because the vegetation would have to regrow over a period of time, and while it is in the progress of growing back, the lion and hyena population will have to travel to get food. This fire is similar to a real forest fire because in both communities, the vegetation would grow back over a period of time, and the remaining animals that survived would have to travel to find food.

Several symbiotic relationships happen in The Lion King. To start off, a symbiotic relationship is an ongoing relationship in which two species live closely together. In The Lion King, many symbiotic relationships are shown, but I am only focusing on two from the movie. One example of a symbiotic relationship that is shown throughout the movie is Rafiki’s home. The second example is at the beginning of the movie when Simba’s mom is licking him. And the relationship between a bee, and a flower in the real word.
One symbiotic relationship shown in The Lion King is when we see Rafiki in a tree at the beginning of the movie. This is an example of a commensalism relationship; which means that one benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed. In this case, Rafiki is the one who benefits because he gets a shelter out of the tree, and the tree is neither helped nor harmed from him living in the tree. When monkeys are high up in a tree, predators that are on land can’t get them, and this is important in maintaining a stable ecosystem because it keeps the monkey population from decreasing. This relationship is similar to a real life relationship because monkeys do find shelter up in trees, and the tree is not helped nor harmed.
The second relationship shown in The Lion King is when Simba’s mother is licking him at the beginning of the movie. This relationship is a parasitism relationship. A parasitism relationship is when one benefits and the other is harmed. When Simba’s mother is licking him, it is a parasitism relationship because the main reason that Simba’s mother is licking him is to clean him of parasites like mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks. In this case, Simba is the one who is harmed because the parasites are feeding off him, and the parasites are the ones who benefit because they get energy off of him. This relationship is essential in maintaining a stable ecosystem because it makes sure that the parasite population does not majorly increase. Cleaning Simba is similar to a real world example because lions do lick themselves to remove parasites.
Lastly, another type of a symbiotic relationship is a mutualism relationship. A mutualism relationship is when both organisms benefit from each other. For example, a bee and a flower. This is an example of a commensalism relationship because the bee is getting nectar, and while doing so, the bee is transferring a flower’s pollen from flower to flower to reproduce. Without the bees, flowers would not be able to reproduce, and without flowers, the bee population would decrease. Therefore, this is a mutualism relationship because they both benefit each other. This mutualism relationship differs from Rafiki’s, and Simba’s symbiotic relationship because the bee, and the flower are benefiting from each other. Secondly, the bee nor the flower are getting shelter from each other like Rafiki and the tree. Thirdly, the bee is not a parasite to the flower because again, they both are benefiting each other.
Rafiki and the tree, Simba and parasites, and a bee and a flower are all examples of a symbiotic relationship. Rafiki and a tree have a commensalism relationship because the tree is providing Rafiki a shelter, and the tree does not get hurt nor harmed. Secondly, Simba has a parasitism relationship with parasites on his skin because Simba is being harmed, and the parasites benefit from him by taking his blood. Lastly, a bee and a flower share a mutualism relationship because the bee is getting nectar, and the flower gets to reproduce. Rafiki and his tree are a good example of commensalism because it shows how Rafiki is benefiting from getting shelter from the tree, and the tree isn’t hurt nor harmed. Simba is another good example of parasitism because the parasites living on him are getting energy from him, and Simba is getting harmed. Lastly, a flower and a bee is a good example of mutualism because both organisms are benefiting from each other, either by getting energy or being able to reproduce. There were many symbiotic relationships in The Lion King such as Rafiki and a tree, and Simba and his mother cleaning him. There are also many symbiotic relationships in the real world such as a bee and a flower.

Cassandra Nguyen
Biology 1
Ms.

Coleman

September 23, 2015

The Lion King

One way the community in Lion King can be changed is by ecological succession. Ecological succession consist of primary and secondary succession, but I am only going to talk about secondary succession. Secondary succession is a result of a disturbance which changes an existing community without removing the soil. Secondary succession occurs in The Lion King when Scar is king, near the end when Simba is king, and it also happens in the real world.

Secondary succession occurred while Simba was trying to take back the throne. In the progress of doing so, a fire started. The fire caused the vegetation to burn, which would lead to secondary succession. This will change the community because the vegetation would have to regrow over a period of time, and while it is in the progress of growing back, the lion and hyena population will have to travel to get food. This fire is similar to a real forest fire because in both communities, the vegetation would grow back over a period of time, and the remaining animals that survived would have to travel to find

food.

Several symbiotic relationships happen in The Lion King. To start off, a symbiotic relationship is an ongoing relationship in which two species live closely together. In The Lion King, many symbiotic relationships are shown, but I am only focusing on two from the movie. One example of a symbiotic relationship that is shown throughout the movie is Rafiki’s home. The second example is at the beginning of the movie when Simba’s mom is licking him. And the relationship between a bee, and a flower in the real word.
One symbiotic relationship shown in The Lion King is when we see Rafiki in a tree at the beginning of the movie.

This is an example of a commensalism relationship; which means that one benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed. In this case, Rafiki is the one who benefits because he gets a shelter out of the tree, and the tree is neither helped nor harmed from him living in the tree. When monkeys are high up in a tree, predators that are on land can’t get them, and this is important in maintaining a stable ecosystem because it keeps the monkey population from decreasing. This relationship is similar to a real life relationship because monkeys do find shelter up in trees, and the tree is not helped nor

harmed.
The second relationship shown in The Lion King is when Simba’s mother is licking him at the beginning of the movie. This relationship is a parasitism relationship. A parasitism relationship is when one benefits and the other is harmed. When Simba’s mother is licking him, it is a parasitism relationship because the main reason that Simba’s mother is licking him is to clean him of parasites like mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks. In this case, Simba is the one who is harmed because the parasites are feeding off him, and the parasites are the ones who benefit because they get energy off of him. This relationship is essential in maintaining a stable ecosystem because it makes sure that the parasite population does not majorly increase. Cleaning Simba is similar to a real world example because lions do lick themselves to remove parasites.
Lastly, another type of a symbiotic relationship is a mutualism relationship. A mutualism relationship is when both organisms benefit from each other. For example, a bee and a flower. This is an example of a commensalism relationship because the bee is getting nectar, and while doing so, the bee is transferring a flower’s pollen from flower to flower to reproduce. Without the bees, flowers would not be able to reproduce, and without flowers, the bee population would decrease. Therefore, this is a mutualism relationship because they both benefit each other. This mutualism relationship differs from Rafiki’s, and Simba’s symbiotic relationship because the bee, and the flower are benefiting from each other. Secondly, the bee nor the flower are getting shelter from each other like Rafiki and the tree. Thirdly, the bee is not a parasite to the flower because again, they both are benefiting each other.
Rafiki and the tree, Simba and parasites, and a bee and a flower are all examples of a symbiotic relationship. Rafiki and a tree have a commensalism relationship because the tree is providing Rafiki a shelter, and the tree does not get hurt nor harmed. Secondly, Simba has a parasitism relationship with parasites on his skin because Simba is being harmed, and the parasites benefit from him by taking his blood. Lastly, a bee and a flower share a mutualism relationship because the bee is getting nectar, and the flower gets to reproduce. Rafiki and his tree are a good example of commensalism because it shows how Rafiki is benefiting from getting shelter from the tree, and the tree isn’t hurt nor harmed. Simba is another good example of parasitism because the parasites living on him are getting energy from him, and Simba is getting harmed. Lastly, a flower and a bee is a good example of mutualism because both organisms are benefiting from each other, either by getting energy or being able to reproduce. There were many symbiotic relationships in The Lion King such as Rafiki and a tree, and Simba and his mother cleaning him. There are also many symbiotic relationships in the real world such as a bee and a flower.