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I definitely think we should get rid of mosquitos while we have the chance. Imagine if civilization crumbles, and our descendants, huddled in caves and trying

I definitely think we should get rid of mosquitos while we have the chance. Imagine if civilization crumbles, and our descendants, huddled in caves and trying to find enough food to eat, are all getting diseases from these things, and people look back at us and say "but they thought it wasn't ethical to kill mosquitos".

sixstringtheory 5y ago
I live in Alaska, famous for its mosquitoes as well as megafauna like bears, caribou, moose, wolves, migratory birds, fish, seals, whales etc. I often wonder if those mosquitoes don’t fulfill some strange yet essential role in that beautiful ecosystem’s continuation. Would love to hear that no, we can safely eliminate them and all the other cool and cuddly ones will be fine. But with my luck… Really though, I’d like to see better medical technologies to deal with illnesses.
- nfc 5y ago
  Couldn't we run experiments to discover whether they really have this role? Like for example choosing an island with mosquitoes (and far enough from other lands as to not be rapidly repopulated) eliminating them there and seeing what the effect is in the ecosystem? I wonder if something like this has ever been tried.
  - interestica 5y ago
    I think they're deploying these (https://www.oxitec.com/en/our-technology https://www.oxitec.com/en/our-technology) in the Florida Keys (https://www.keysmosquitoproject.com/our-solution https://www.keysmosquitoproject.com/our-solution)
- raducu 5y ago
  Mosquito biomass is not negligible I think. Surely some critters will suffer if we remove mosquitos.
- tpxl 5y ago
  Afaik there are some species of birds that rely on mosquitoes for most of their diet.
- Gravityloss 5y ago
  Fish eat mosquito larva.
james-redwood 5y ago
Mosquitoes play an important (if at times unknown) role in ecosystems. The golden rule of conservation is never to play God. The introduction of rabbits in Australia are a particularly famous example of attempting to do so, where they decimated local ecosystems.
neuronic 5y ago
It's not about ethical, it's about severe disruptions to ecosystems with unknown consequences. We know very little and are not capable of playing God without paying the price for it.

sixstringtheory 5y ago

I live in Alaska, famous for its mosquitoes as well as megafauna like bears, caribou, moose, wolves, migratory birds, fish, seals, whales etc. I often wonder if those mosquitoes don’t fulfill some strange yet essential role in that beautiful ecosystem’s continuation. Would love to hear that no, we can safely eliminate them and all the other cool and cuddly ones will be fine. But with my luck… Really though, I’d like to see better medical technologies to deal with illnesses.

nfc 5y ago
Couldn't we run experiments to discover whether they really have this role? Like for example choosing an island with mosquitoes (and far enough from other lands as to not be rapidly repopulated) eliminating them there and seeing what the effect is in the ecosystem? I wonder if something like this has ever been tried.
- interestica 5y ago
  I think they're deploying these (https://www.oxitec.com/en/our-technology https://www.oxitec.com/en/our-technology) in the Florida Keys (https://www.keysmosquitoproject.com/our-solution https://www.keysmosquitoproject.com/our-solution)
raducu 5y ago
Mosquito biomass is not negligible I think. Surely some critters will suffer if we remove mosquitos.
tpxl 5y ago
Afaik there are some species of birds that rely on mosquitoes for most of their diet.
Gravityloss 5y ago
Fish eat mosquito larva.

james-redwood 5y ago

Mosquitoes play an important (if at times unknown) role in ecosystems. The golden rule of conservation is never to play God. The introduction of rabbits in Australia are a particularly famous example of attempting to do so, where they decimated local ecosystems.

neuronic 5y ago

It's not about ethical, it's about severe disruptions to ecosystems with unknown consequences. We know very little and are not capable of playing God without paying the price for it.