Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 09:47:43 -0600 (CST) From: Paul Burkhardt <burkhard@aries.scs.uiuc.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg4148$foo@default> Subject: Re: Rebuttal to Paul Burkhardt
Dear Paul McCollough,
> Paul Burkhardt wrote:
>
> > But what's the point? Why add D. capillaris to a bog where it doesn't
> > naturally exist? I don't mean to pick on you Paul or anyone else, but I
> > fail to understand the reasoning behind just planting CPs everywhere.
> Uh... exactly where did I say that was an intention? My wife did just
Forgive me if you felt I was implying that you were intending to plant CPs
everywhere. I was merely using a hyperbole in my statement, which I felt
was quite obvious. I will restate the question directly to you. Why plant
D. capillaris in a bog where it does not natural exist in the first place?
> Hey Paul, did you know that seeds can float in the air and across
> mighty oceans and still make successful landings on volcanic (or
> otherwise lifeless) islands and establish themselves? By the way...
> seeds can often survive digestive tracts and still germinate.
Yes, plants and seeds get distributed by wind, animals, etc. but that is
not a proof that all such dispersals will be successful. Keep in mind, we
were discussing bogs with established indigenous flora and therefore
shouldn't be compared to lifeless volcanic islands and such.
> I believe artificial bogs increase the likelihood of
> cross-contamination of natural bogs (Far more then anything grown in my
> indoor greenhouse).
Please explain to me how?
Insects and wind are ubiquitous, and therefore a remote bog will have been
traversed by it's own 'local' pollinating agents before anything from a
different bog reaches it. Of course, there is some possibility of
'foreign' contamination, but as I've already mentioned, there probably
won't be enough 'biomass' of 'hybrid' offspring to out-compete the
indigenous plants.
If it were so easy for contamination, then we wouldn't live in such a
diverse world of animals and plants. There would be little that we can
separate out into species. Everything would tend towards a mean.
> This is why I personally think it's a dumb idea to plant
> non-indigenous CP into a natural bog... they would more then likely just
> die.
Really? Haven't we been reading about the wonderful bog adventure in CA
where D. capensis is growing successfully along with some Sarracenia? Your
argument about not knowing if D. capillaris and the vft having already
tried to establish themselves unsuccessfully at different areas is not
proof that they will *not* establish themselves.
> It would be interesting to see if the proliferation of artificial
> bogs (after all, has anyone noticed the groundswell of CP popularity
> lately?) has any impact on natural bogs- I have a feeling that even
> without anyone intending for it to happen, there will be "new" plants
> springing up out of the moss all over the place.
Unless one makes an artificial bog within yards of a natural one, explain
how 'new' plants will spring up, without human intervention?
Paul Burkhardt
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