RE: Subject: [GSAS-Member] UV light to control algae, ecological consequences of using bogwood

["Hess, Clay A" <clay.a.hess@boeing.com>]

John,

Thanks....your question is the type I enjoy......it makes a person think.  The 
research in answering questions such as yours is always educational and 
interesting to me.  I will see if Steev would like to include this in the 
newsletter.

Clay

-----Original Message-----
From: John Ruhland [mailto:john@drruhland.com] 
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 12:38 AM
To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat
Subject: Re: Subject: [GSAS-Member] UV light to control algae,ecological 
consequences of using bogwood


Clay,
I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this article. It 
would be worth
submitting it for publication in the newsletter. Regarding the African 
workers who
collect the bogwood, it is really painful knowing that they and many 
people
throughout the world are forced into work that destroys their 
environment, without
receiving more than a pittance.
They know the damage they are doing to the earth that supports them, 
and it causes them
emotional pain to participate in those activities, but their crying 
babies are
a constant reminder that the alternative is starvation, as one sees in 
the award-winning
1999 documentary "The Charcoal People." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245034/

Then again, another perspective is to look at how we go and blast a 
country with bombs.
Efforts to save the world may be better directed at working to mitigate 
the really serious
offenses like that, yet it is my opinion that it is always worth 
evaluating the consequences of
as many of our actions as we can stand to evaluate without becoming 
paralyzed by depression.
Thank you,
John


On Mar 27, 2005, at 12:12 AM, Hess, Clay A wrote:

>
>  Hmmmmm, so, I found another interesting question to talk a little 
> about.  "Does anyone know if there are negative ecological 
> consequences to using bogwood. Are we destroying habitat or doing 
> other harm by using it, as we are when we use peat?"
>
> First, let me state, I believe that protecting and helping the 
> environment are noble causes.  It would be fantastic if we could live 
> on this planet without impacting our environment.  However, placing 5+
> billion organic life forms, the size of humans, on a small sphere the
> size of Planet Earth seems to be the wrong approach to "living on a planet
> without impacting it's environment".  With this disclaimer made, let me
> see if I can offer a little insight on our hobby and it's impact to the
> environment.
>
> Let's start with the original question about bogwood.  First, let me 
> state that bogwood is a generic term, in the aquarium hobby, for any 
> of a number of tree parts (from a number of tree species) that have a 
> density greater than water.  This simply means, when the wood is 
> placed in water......yep, it sinks.  With this noted, there is one 
> type of wood that tends to be sold more than others for this purpose. 
> The "bogwood" most often sold in the aquarium industry is mopane 
> (Colophospermum mopane). Pronounced "mo-PAHN-eh".
>
> What is mopane? Throughout southern Africa, mopane is the predominant 
> large tree that forms dense stands of woodland in low-lying river 
> valley bottoms of the Zambezi and its tributaries. Mopane is a tree of 
> the dry sub-tropical savanna rather than a rain forest tree. It's an 
> important part of the savanna ecosystem, for its leaves are unusually 
> high in proteins and the wood is hard and tough, the first choice for
> slow-burning firewood (according to Niles Eldridge, Life in the Balance
> pp 10ff). These trees are fed on by a long list of African wildlife,
> including elephants, gazelles and moths (caterpillar form, the mopane
> worm, an important human food source).  The trees also provide a 
> nesting location for a number of bird types including the hornbills. The 
> mopane
> woodlands support some of the largest and most significant wildlife
> populations in all of Africa.
>
> Unfortunately, the mopane woodland region is really not that large a 
> part of Africa.  Fortunately, about 45% of the mopane woodland region 
> is habitat protected by various forms of state and private 
> conservation. Land transformation and degradation through agriculture, 
> settlement and livestock grazing poses some threat to the ecoregion, 
> particularly in South Africa and Swaziland, where population densities 
> are as high as 174 persons per km2 (Els 1996) and large-scale 
> agricultural plans have been introduced (Stalmans and Peel 1999).
>
> What does this all mean relative to our original question?  The point, 
> here, is there is an ongoing threat to the mopane woodlands due to 
> human pressures on the region.  By providing a market demand for 
> mopane in a multi-billion dollar industry such as the aquarium 
> industry, further human demands are placed on the mopane woodlands.  
> In a poor agricultural region such as the mopane woodlands, human 
> pressures are normally low.  However, areas such as the mopane 
> woodlands become increasingly pressured as human population grows and 
> market demands increase.
>
> Sooooo, again.....what does this all mean?  I believe most of us in 
> the aquarium industry are familiar with the negative impact our hobby 
> has had on reef life in the Phillipines.  The demand for live corals 
> and pretty salt water fish drove an unregulated demand upon this 
> region to a point where the reefs were decimated.  I am not saying the 
> mopane woodlands are near as sensitive as the Phillipine reefs, yet, 
> there are similarities here.
>
> Reefs grow and thrive in very limited ecoregions for a number of 
> reasons.  Similarly, the mopane woodlands grow and thrive in a very 
> limited ecoregion.  Overgrazing or over-harvesting can produce 
> devastating imbalances in a reef zone.  Again, similarly, overgrazing 
> or over-harvesting can devastate forests or woodlands. Once destroyed, 
> it takes many many years for a reef to recover.  Finally, once 
> destroyed, it is very very rare to see a forest or woodland 
> re-established in an unprotected ecoregion.
>
> With this, I will let the reader decide if "there are negative 
> ecological consequences to using bogwood. Are we destroying habitat or 
> doing other harm by using it, as we are when we use peat?"
>
> This was written to offer the reader a chance to consider the issue a 
> little more in-depth.  I am not trying to say that putting bogwood in 
> your fishtank is a bad thing.  I am simply offering the aquarist an 
> opportunity to consider the potential consequences of their actions.
> As with any information, it is best not to lose sight of the bigger 
> picture too.  There are many human driven impacts to this Planet, is buying
> bogwood one of the most significant?  I seriously doubt it.  Yet, for
> every action....there is a reaction.
>
>
> Clay
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- John Ruhland <john@drruhland.com> wrote:
>> I was so busy this week, I'm just now able to give a follow-up report 
>> on my use of the UV light for the blue-green "algae." This life form 
>> is small
>> enough that the pleated filter of the Magnum 350 did
>> not filter any out.
>> I did not try precipitating it out, although that
>> may have been my next
>> step
>> if the UV light had not worked.
>>
>> Originally, the algae suspended in the water was
>> clouding the water so
>> much
>> that one could see maybe 4 to 6 inches in. After 6
>> hours using the UV
>> light,
>> it was about 8 to 10 inches. 24 hours after that, so
>> 30 hours after
>> first using the
>> light, one could see the color of the wall through
>> the tank, and an
>> additional 24
>> hours later, it was nearly normal. At this time, I
>> moved the light to
>> another tank,
>> where two of my Kenyi have developed a nasty-looking infection. They
>> have
>> been fighting while I quickly try to get another
>> tank running in order
>> to be able
>> to separate them.
>>
>> John
>>
>> (Still looking for more hiding places for the fish
>> as well, if anyone
>> else bogwood,
>> clay pipes or rocks that would be appropriate for
>> the Kenyi African
>> Cichlides (they
>> are about 6-7 inches long). Sorry, I will not be
>> able to make the
>> auction.  : (
>>
>> Does anyone know if there are negative ecological consequences to 
>> using bogwood. Are we destroying habitat or doing other harm by using 
>> it, as we
>> are when we use peat? Is it practical to use wood
>> from our area, and
>> just
>> submerge and waterlog it? I'm afraid that it will
>> work its way loose,
>> shoot
>> up to the surface, and damage light or cover.
>>
>> Thank you
>>
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Dr. John F. Ruhland
The Natural Health Medical Clinic
4002 - 25th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98108
206-723-4891
www.drruhland.com

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