Clay, and other members,
I found answers on this members listserve to each subject I had concerns about.
Ecological issues, health issues, and I even stated my concerns regarding
silicone toxicity. One last issue I have concerns about, is the inbreeding of
fish in the aquarium community. I'd enjoy getting other people's opinions on
that subject.
We see problems in human beings, such as dramatic increases in rates of
cancer, learning disabilities, heart disease, etc. While most of these are
lifestyle and environmental contamination related, we are using heroic efforts
that allow people to reproduce that never would have been able to in the past.
There is no correct answer whether this is good or bad, right or wrong, it just
is, and we have to accept it. But back to fish, many aquarium fish are the
progeny of relatively few breeding fish. In researching some fish I recently
got, the literature clearly states, that this inbreeding has caused certain
fish lines to be unhealthy. My question is, what can we do about this, when
breeding fish? I have not gotten into breeding, but I have a mated pair of
Kribs, so it is just a matter of time.
John
On Mar 27, 2005, at 10:49 PM, Hess, Clay A wrote:
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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