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maculated
Aug 19, 2003, 7:49 PM
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My friend and I are having an on-going debate. She saw one of these things at the mall, and i've known about it for a while now:
http://www.eco-sphere.com/care_manual.html
She contends that if the shrimp reproduced, they'd overpopulate their ecosphere and kill it.
I think that they would initially overpopulate but then things would balance out (like, not enough food or too much CO2 would kill some off and then they'd maintain a balance that way.
Your input, please. Kind of a larger life discussion, in the end, isn't it?
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charrock
Aug 19, 2003, 8:01 PM
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I would say that nothing stays in perfect balance forever. thus nothing last forever. The shrimp are history. So is man. The earth will be here for a long time but not like we know it. And so it goes....Charlie
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maculated
Aug 19, 2003, 8:10 PM
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Uh . . . looking not for philosophy, but whether or not they overpopulate.
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charrock
Aug 19, 2003, 8:19 PM
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Scientifically speaking: Light and temperature would be variables. It is very hard to maintain these at home. and I think eco systems says it best
Because the EcoSphere is a living thing we know it will die some day. Because we want each customer to have the healthiest eco-system possible, we established the Replacement Policies. The replacement policy period will start from the original issue date of your original EcoSphere. The Small Sphere and Small Pod have a 6 Month Replacement Policy. All larger EcoSpheres have a 12-month Replacement Policy. This Policy requires the customer to pay all shipping charges.
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jumpingrock
Aug 19, 2003, 8:19 PM
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Not unless there is an unlimited source of vital resources. If there is a limited source of resources (food) than eventually there will be too many shrimp and not enough food and some will die off and a balance will return. Thats what happens to all animals w/ the exception of humans b/c we don't (currently) have a limited source of resources.
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maculated
Aug 19, 2003, 8:25 PM
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Charr, are you trying to be obtuse for fun? Or what? Or WHAT!!!!
Thanks Jumping rock, that's what I'm thinking, too.
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the_pirate
Aug 19, 2003, 8:26 PM
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I would be very suprised if the shrimp roproduced at all, let alone overpopulated. Keeping them alive would be a much bigger issue. Maybe once you've had it for a while and became familiar with the effects of environmental variables, light, etc. you could manage it well enough to get the shrimp to reproduce. If you get too many shrimp...... you can always dip some of them in coctail sauce... YUM
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maculated
Aug 19, 2003, 8:29 PM
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Please people . . . THEY DON'T REPRODUCE!! The question is: IF THEY DID . . . ?
::tearing hair out::
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jumpingrock
Aug 19, 2003, 8:41 PM
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In reply to: ::tearing hair out::
Please don't. You wouldn't look half as pretty ;).
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the_pirate
Aug 19, 2003, 8:45 PM
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Maybe if you put on some Barry White and gave them some privacy.....
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charrock
Aug 19, 2003, 8:46 PM
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In reply to: Charr, are you trying to be obtuse for fun? Or what? Or WHAT!!!! .
Obtuse charlie hangs his head wounded by the sharp arrows thrown by by mac.....however in a dying breath he repeats that light (which is key to this system as it manufactures the frigging food) is a variable so the system cannot maintain equilibrium. he passes on...to the world of commuters.
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jumpingrock
Aug 19, 2003, 9:06 PM
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Ok... I didn't read the whole thing b4 I posted. I withdraw my previous claim. It depends on factors which are not explained on the page. First off, will the shrimp start to die b4 they eat all the algae? If not the ecosphere will die. This is because the algae are producing the oxygen. If it gets all eaten then there will not be anymore oxygen and because there is no influx of foriegn algae once they are all eaten all the oxygen would be depleted and the ecosphere would die. As long as a small comunity of oxygen producing algae survive there would be a balance. I think however the shrimp would eat all the algae.
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maculated
Aug 19, 2003, 9:27 PM
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Which is most likely then? Consumption of algae or carbon dioxide poisoning?
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jumpingrock
Aug 19, 2003, 9:39 PM
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That depends on the rate of reproduction. Low reproduction = possible equilibrium. High reproduction = extinction.
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thomasribiere
Aug 19, 2003, 9:51 PM
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grow pot and smoke it
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meataxe
Aug 20, 2003, 6:32 PM
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Thomas Malthus' essay on population (1798):
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/malthus/malthus.0.html
(Population increases in a geometric ratio, while the means of subsistence increases in an arithmetic ratio.)
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jumpingrock
Aug 20, 2003, 7:12 PM
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Don't have time to read it. Is that for all populations? I am sure there are some that don't.
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hangerlessbolt
Aug 20, 2003, 7:17 PM
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Would they over-populate?
Not likely.
Adapt?
Probably
On the discussion of human overpopulation…I believe that there are cures for killers such as cancer…but greater is the fear of overpopulation than desire to introduce the cure. Checks and balances.
What does it mean to overpopulate? If the resources of life are overly consumed…the problem will fix itself.
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climber49er
Aug 20, 2003, 7:40 PM
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In reply to: Uh . . . looking not for philosophy, but whether or not they overpopulate. _________________ To be worn out is to be renewed. - Lao-tzu
Does these seem weird to anyone else? :wink:
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hangerlessbolt
Aug 20, 2003, 7:44 PM
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overlooked it...
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climber49er
Aug 20, 2003, 7:47 PM
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In reply to: overlooked it...
Yeah? Do tell. :lol:
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maculated
Aug 20, 2003, 7:54 PM
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Oh, I like philosophy, just not when answering the shrimp question. SHeesh.
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hangerlessbolt
Aug 20, 2003, 7:57 PM
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You do realize that you evoked the concept of philosophical discussion when you added:
“Kind of a larger life discussion, in the end, isn't it?”
*smile*
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maculated
Aug 20, 2003, 9:18 PM
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You are killing me, Rob.
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winter
Aug 20, 2003, 9:55 PM
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I just looked at these, how intesely creepy, I think I have better things to spend my money on. You can get sea monkeys for less and they don't everpopulate.
Does anyone actually have one of these? How do they seal it, with a plug on the bottom or something?
I grew an ecosystem in a jar for like 2 years, never opened, sealed the whole time. I was moss or algae (or both) that grew adn was healthy, I was scared to open it, then one day I tried and it was stuck, teh lid wouldn't budge. So based on my own home experiment...some sort of ecosystem can exist in a closed environment.
Sorry I didn't talk about them breeding, got sidetracked by my fondly remembered jar.
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