Mosquitoes are not only pesky and irritating insects, but they also carry many deadly diseases, so what if they were wiped off the planet entirely. Would it cause an imbalance ecosystem, or a world without risk of disease from tiny, but deadly insects. In the article "A World Without Mosquitoes," both perspectives are explained.
Jittawadee Murphy is a expert on mosquitoes, and in here professional opinion she thinks mosquitoes should be completely wiped from existence. Her main reasoning is that they can cary diseases such as malaria, and West Nile virus. Another scientist names Strickman says that the only economical change in killing these mosquitoes is an increase of the human population.
On the other end of the argument, some animals depend on the mosquitoes. For instance the mosquito fish depend on the mosquito for food. If the mosquito no longer existed, than the mosquito fish would die, and another organism that is dependent on that fish would die of as well.
From what I have read in this article, I agree that there would be little to no ecological disturbance if mosquitoes were to become extinct. There are thousands of different species of mosquitoes, however only one actually feeds from humans. If only these species were targeted animals such as the mosquito fish could survive. From the evidence in this article I think that mosquitoes should be gotten rid off.
Great post Zach! I think this article raises a lot of interesting questions. What are your thoughts on the human population on Earth? While it sound heartless, can Earth support all of the lives that would be saved by ridding ourselves of mosquitoes? Also, what if a worse vector takes the place of the mosquito over time?
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