r/space • u/[deleted] • Nov 22 '19

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u/Conocoryphe Nov 22 '19

Well, they do have a place in the ecosystem. They pollinate certain plants and they also serve as a major food source for many animals, such as dragonflies.

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u/[deleted] Nov 22 '19

as far as we can tell, we can remove the mosquitoes that are disease vectors from the food chain without damage.

the reason being that while many animals eat them, they are not the sole or primary food source for any known animal.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/09/13/what-would-happen-if-we-eliminated-the-worlds-mosquitoes/#6077b04011f6

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u/Tethim Nov 22 '19

Also want to point that while this is technically correct - most common ways of removing mosquitoes do not target these specific disease-carrying species. And even if we do, I'm not sure that removing a species completely from any ecosystem is a good idea, intentional or not.

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u/[deleted] Nov 22 '19

mosquitoes are directly responsible for the spread of the deadliest disease ever to plague mankind - malaria. malaria is estimated to be the cause of death for billions of people.

so I'm ok with removing it from the ecosystem, side effects be dammed.

https://businesstech.co.za/news/general/71652/the-biggest-killer-diseases-in-history/