Entire ecosystems are regulated by or around them. Hugely influential life beings.
They filter and clean huge amounts of freshwater. Males pollinate plants. They are responsible of massive energy interchanges between vertebrates and invertebrates in all directions and nodes of the trophic chains. Thousands of species of animals depend on them directly or indirectly.
This is not scientifically well supported, on a account of "maybe we can just kill them all"[1,2] is a question surrounding whether we deploy the gene-drive bioweapon against them[3].
The counter-argument leans heavily on the vague feeling that we shouldn't do this, rather then much concrete-evidence this would really be a problem. And the communities blighted by mosquito-born pathogens (which covers a huge chunk of human civilization on the planet) I suspect are only restrained on account of the lack of money and technology to implement it themselves.
IMO the question is going to be answered for us at some point: a sufficiently virulent, mosquito born disease will emerge (or just be Zika, with mosquito carriers moving into 1st world areas on the back of climate change) and the answer will rapidly become yes.
Inform yourself better. We have more than a vague feeling that they play a major role on many ecosystems.
Zoologists study this animals since XIX century at least and there is a pile of literature about them bigger than the Liberty statue. Mosquito life cycle in particular is middle-school grade knowledge.
One catch they also kill more than half a million people every year. A small price to pay you say? I say burn all of mosquitos every single one to ashes.
The CDC did as well [1]. In fact, the extermination of disease carrying mosquitos was part of their founding charter [2] which they achieved in the US with a smashing success.
Enough time has passed to show that the direct biosphere effects of exterminating disease carrying mosquitos are basically undetectable. For that matter, history has even showed that the biosphere effects of the eradication process via drainage and mass DDT application were relatively minor in the long run.
> the direct biosphere effects of exterminating disease carrying mosquitos are basically undetectable
I would say basically unreported
Near one third of the species of freshwater fishes extant in the whole planet face extinction currently.
Of those, all the freshwater species of megafishes (all species reaching 30Kg) reduced their population by 94% in the last 50 years. Some, like the Chinese Paddlefish (one of the biggest freshwater fishes known in the planet, 7m long) went extinct.
Rivers provide a 25% of the food that we humans, eat, and 200 millions of people rely directly on freshwater fishes as main source of proteins in the diet.
Before to start rolling this shitball of consequences downhill, we need to remind ourselves that the danger is not negligible, not at all, and that the outcome would be unpredictable and irreversible. There are "a million multiverses" in what such drastic and irresponsible actions could return and bite us hard in the gorge.
Mao did not try the exact same thing lets stop with the BS first of all. Last I checked China is doing fine. I was obviously exaggerating when I said all but I honestly think that all diseases carrying mosquito types should be completely eradicated. This is not a laughing matter imo and not a time to act like a psychopath.
Mosquito borne disease situation is dire in a lot of Asian and African countries. May be if you lose loved one your idea will change.
I don't think you are smart enough to understand that what you're saying and what he tried are equivalent.
Reminder for what you said:
> One catch they also kill more than half a million people every year. A small price to pay you say? I say burn all of mosquitos every single one to ashes.
What Mao did:
> The "Four Pests" campaign was introduced in 1958 as a hygiene campaign aimed to eradicate the pests responsible for the transmission of pestilence and disease:
> - the mosquitos responsible for malaria
> - the rodents that spread the plague
> - the pervasive airborne flies
> - the sparrows—specifically the Eurasian tree sparrow—which ate grain seed and fruit
I believe your position on mosquitos is directly equivalent to Mao's position, in every way. Don't tell other people they don't understand you when they clearly do, much better than yourself apparently.
You're welcome to prove to me how someone whose position is to kill mosquitos because of X number of deaths a year is not 1:1 with Mao's position of killing mosquitos because of the very thing that kills those people every year.
Seems like it refers to bio-energy exchange - the mosquitos eat something, other animals eat the mosquitos. Another way of saying they are a major part of the food chain.
Leaving bullshit unchallenged isn't the purpose of this site. Explain exactly how mosquitoes "filter and clean huge amounts of freshwater," or cite appropriate credible research.
They filter and clean huge amounts of freshwater. Males pollinate plants. They are responsible of massive energy interchanges between vertebrates and invertebrates in all directions and nodes of the trophic chains. Thousands of species of animals depend on them directly or indirectly.