3 ms·

I am just wondering, are we about to discover what other insects etc. are being influenced by this decision, possibly with negative effects on a large scale? M

I am just wondering, are we about to discover what other insects etc. are being influenced by this decision, possibly with negative effects on a large scale? Makes me think of the four pests campaign. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_Campaign https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_Campaign

dmoy 9y ago
This case it's probably being done to recent invasive species... As in the ecosystem was fine before they came, and will be fine after they're gone again.
- komali2 9y ago
  To be fair, depending on your definition of "fine," it could be fine now and it could be fine in the middle of an ice age.
  - derefr 9y ago
    How about: the ecosystem was the way humans nostalgically preferred it before the mosquitos came, and it'll likely be the way humans nostalgically preferred it again once they're gone.
    - dmoy 9y ago
      Not just mosquitoes, this one specific type of invasive mosquito. There will still be many other mosquitoes after the wolbachia thingy is done. It doesn't work on most mosquitoes
learc83 9y ago
Our current solution is for trucks to drive down the road spraying pesticides everywhere. We know that kills far more than mosquitoes.
Chardok 9y ago
Except this proposal is widely accepted in the scientific community with hundreds of ecological studies behind it, where as the Four Pests was just speculation by a guy who likely never studied any modern biology.
- andrei_says_ 9y ago
  Yes, that’s definitely a huge differentiation. What i was using this example for, however, was the unpredictability of influencing an infinitely interconnected and complex system. In the case of the four pests, the influence was crude and especially myopic, so it makes for a wonderful example. It is rare that the influence ends where we imagine it would. There are many possibilities for race conditions which i know i can’t even imagine.

dmoy 9y ago

This case it's probably being done to recent invasive species... As in the ecosystem was fine before they came, and will be fine after they're gone again.

komali2 9y ago
To be fair, depending on your definition of "fine," it could be fine now and it could be fine in the middle of an ice age.
- derefr 9y ago
  How about: the ecosystem was the way humans nostalgically preferred it before the mosquitos came, and it'll likely be the way humans nostalgically preferred it again once they're gone.
  - dmoy 9y ago
    Not just mosquitoes, this one specific type of invasive mosquito. There will still be many other mosquitoes after the wolbachia thingy is done. It doesn't work on most mosquitoes

learc83 9y ago

Our current solution is for trucks to drive down the road spraying pesticides everywhere. We know that kills far more than mosquitoes.

Chardok 9y ago

Except this proposal is widely accepted in the scientific community with hundreds of ecological studies behind it, where as the Four Pests was just speculation by a guy who likely never studied any modern biology.

andrei_says_ 9y ago
Yes, that’s definitely a huge differentiation. What i was using this example for, however, was the unpredictability of influencing an infinitely interconnected and complex system. In the case of the four pests, the influence was crude and especially myopic, so it makes for a wonderful example. It is rare that the influence ends where we imagine it would. There are many possibilities for race conditions which i know i can’t even imagine.