3 ms·
I believe Lyme disease is a symptom of the wolf and bear populations getting driven into extinction. Deer populations prosper and tick spread also prospers alon
by petre 6y ago
I believe Lyme disease is a symptom of the wolf and bear populations getting driven into extinction. Deer populations prosper and tick spread also prospers along with them. Ticks multiply on deer. Mice and small bird populations also prosper. They're reservoir species for Lyme but I fail to see the connection to wolves. Most likely also a smaller predator species like weasel, polecat, stoat, ferret, mink and wild cat are also driven into extrinction along with wolves and bears because of deforestation and habitat fragmentation. It's really a very complex issue, but it kind of boils down to huge swaths of woods getting fragmented and cut down for agriculture, forestry, entertainment (ski resorts), residential use. Residential areas are also growing into the woods, triggering more interaction with big predators and driving them into extinction where they're not already extinct (Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe).
So what would you rather have? A few sheep gone missing or the lurking danger of a debilitating, potentially life threatening condition carried by an insect the size of a needle pin?
- eru 6y agoIf one predator like wolves goes away, another predator like ticks picks up the slack. Interestingly, parasites with complex lifecycles are good indicators of biodiversity in general, because they lodge in multiple different hosts across the different levels of the ecosystem.
- mulmen 6y agoAre ticks predators? Do they kill deer? Do they keep them away from areas where humans live? Wolves hunt deer. Deer carry ticks. Ticks threaten humans.
- petre 6y agoYup, ticks do kill deer and moose. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/ticks-can-take-down-800-pound-moose/583189/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/ticks-ca...
- mulmen 6y agoBut do they change the deer's behavior in beneficial ways like wolves?
- eru 6y agoBeneficial to whom? The deer certainly likes neither the wolf nor the tick. And whether humans like wolves depends on whether eg we'd want to hunt deer for food.
- mulmen 6y agoWhen wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone they changed the behavior of deer in a way that went as far as reducing erosion and redirecting rivers. Sure, ticks may kill deer and I guess you can call that a predator but not in the same way as a wolf. Ecosystems are incredibly fragile. The consequences of replacing one species with another are completely unpredictable.
- eru 6y agoYes, agreed. They have different effects, things are complicated and hard to predict. And even hard to analyze after they happened. I am saying that the changes in Yellowstone are pleasing to humans eg because we value diversity, but it's hard (or impossible) to make an absolute judgement call.