this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2024
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[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 85 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Meh, the global ecosystem is fucked anyway. Might as well trim out the especially annoying bits and enjoy some relative comfort on our way to extinction. If doing so accelerates our downfall a bit, that's a fair trade.

I say it's worth the risk.

[–] 30p87@feddit.org 53 points 2 months ago (4 children)

But unfortunately, hunting nazis is still illegal.

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 28 points 2 months ago

But not immoral!

Don't let the law stop you from doing what's right.

[–] OpenStars@discuss.online 8 points 2 months ago

Ah... (Homer Simpson meme) so far.

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Just gotta figure out how to turn their proboscis inside out with gene editing, make that an oral med, put it in a "supplement", and get marketing to sell it to them as a dick enhancer.

Make sure to label it "HOMEOPATHIC" and the government will leave you alone.

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[–] TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

This, we can't have only the bad parts of mass extinction

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[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 38 points 2 months ago (12 children)

Just a guess... they're probably a food source low in the chain. Disrupt the food chain and we're screwed.

https://www.britannica.com/story/what-purposes-do-mosquitoes-serve-in-ecosystems

[–] Overshoot2648@lemm.ee 51 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Well there's like 30 species and only 4 that hurt humans, so mosquitoes can stay, but those specific 4 can die off.

[–] cm0002@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago

Even better, there's thousands of mosquito species, and only 4 that bit humans

Those 4 can fuck right off into extinction

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago
[–] frezik@midwest.social 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

There's one specific species that causes malaria. Getting rid of that particular one would probably do more good than harm. Their place on the food chain can be filled in by others.

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago

But if they fill in the place in the food chain, that also means they need to be snacking on us.

And I'm not just saying that to be a smart-ass. If humans were a different species, we'd call them horrendously invasive, awful for local ecosystems and that it's really important that their numbers are kept in check, or whatever other euphemisms there are.
No, I don't want to suggest that we should leave humans to die, but we should be aware that it's not as simple as just saving a few lives. We will run into different problems sooner rather than later.

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 41 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Everything I've read suggests that mosquitoes aren't a primary food source for anything, and that their absence would be relatively easily adusted for by those creatures that do eat them. Still, that's a hell of a dice roll.

Edit: And apparently that may be wrong anyway.

For other animals—such as lizards, frogs, spiders, and other insects—adult mosquitoes are the primary food source.

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

I have argued for the same caution every single time this came up on Reddit, because I know of a dozen examples in history where we fucked up something similar.

I got downvoted every single time, across several posts over the years, because obviously the hive mind believes things will be different this time! The thing that males me confident it'll fail is I've never seen, and nobody's ever provided, an example where this type of ecological engineering has actually succeeded for the better.

[–] AEsheron@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The biggest reason it may be different this time is previously we were all like, "let's exterminate dogs," and it turns out dogs are important. This time is more like "let's exterminate pitbulls." There will still be plenty of mosquitos around if the plan is ever put into motion, we are only targeting a very small slice of them. That doesn't mean there won't be issues, it could well be just as big a mistake as all the previous times. But at least it is more likely to work out.

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[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Mosquitos aren't some special niche. Take out mosquitos and something else moves in to replace them, something that doesn't bite.

There's nothing that solely depends on mosquitos, and wouldn't prefer to eat other things which mosquitos may be suppressing by existing themselves.

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[–] frezik@midwest.social 8 points 2 months ago

Their eggs are a rich snack for fish. The reason they're a rich snack is because their mom sucked blood.

That said, we can probably kill off the one species that causes malaria. Other species will move into the gap.

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[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 28 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Funny how much (actual scientific) debate is around mosquito extinction event whilst we are well into a mass extinction event we caused (not to mention all the direct and systemic ecosystem eradication such as marshlands of all sorts).

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Exactly. If we're going to kill everything else, why not them?

[–] Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Because then we will have a few years of being able to sit outside in peace before going outside and melting.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 5 points 2 months ago

And we as a species are such bastards that we would want them to melt, so it's all going according to plan.

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Just wait for the temperature to melt the mosquitos 👌

[–] Soluna@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think they researched this and found that literally no creature completely rely on mosquitos, and that if they were wiped out the power vaccum would be replaced by other small flying insects that are within the diets of the creatures that would otherwise eat mosquitoes. So yeah, there really isn't anything stopping us from wiping them out. I say do it, and just keep some in a lab just in case if fucks stuff up. Or maybe more reasonably just modify them so they can't suck human blood or pierce human skin, which I'm pretty sure we're also already capable of.

[–] MicrondeMMMMMMM@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Or maybe dont eradicate them? They've been here for millions of years why do we feel like their existence is worthless because they bother us, I say, prevent them from carrying diseases instead...

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[–] ramenshaman@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago (2 children)

If you haven't seen Puss in Boots 2, do yourself a big favor and go see it.

[–] GiveOver@feddit.uk 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

On the surface this seems like it could be a running joke. A sequel to an 11 year old spinoff from Shrek 2. Ridiculous that they came out with such a good film.

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 months ago

It has one of the best on-screen depictions of a panic attack that I've ever seen, which I wasn't expecting

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[–] Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's a great movie, it brought me to tears, I highly recommend it.

I'm also just a sucker for Death depictions

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago (3 children)

PLEASE do cockroaches next. I refuse to believe those monstrosities are capable of good, even tangentially.

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 32 points 2 months ago (3 children)

If cockroaches went extinct, there would actually be some pretty significant effects on ecosystems. They’re not just pests; they play a crucial role as decomposers. Cockroaches help break down dead organic matter—stuff like leaves, wood, and even dead animals. Without them, you’d start to see a buildup of this kind of waste, and the whole process of nutrient recycling would slow down. This matters because a lot of plants rely on nutrients that get released when organic material decomposes. If that process stalls, it could disrupt plant growth and soil health.

Plus, cockroaches are food for a ton of animals—birds, reptiles, small mammals, and other insects all rely on them. If they disappeared, it would mess with food chains, potentially leading to population drops in species that depend on them. And let’s not forget, cockroaches are also tied into the microbial world. They carry microorganisms that help break down certain materials, so their extinction could mess with those processes too.

So yeah, it’s easy to think the world would be better without them because they’re gross, but in reality, ecosystems would take a pretty big hit if cockroaches went extinct overnight.

[–] CptEnder@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah tbh cockroaches get a pass, mosquitoes are an existential threat to our species.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 6 points 2 months ago

A bit of an exaggeration but fuck em.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Thanks for this. As much as I hate them, my daughter and I were recently trying to find whether they serve any purpose besides occasionally ruining my life.

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[–] Username02@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The mosquito we see around us are invasive species that we humans brought along as we migrate across the continent. Make sense if their extinction bring neglectable impact to the local ecosystem. They aren't supposed to be there to begin with.

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[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

As if human care about future consequences.

[–] riodoro1@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Humans have already caused so many species to go extinct.

[–] krashmo@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

Doing it on purpose for self defense seems less bad to me than indiscriminately because we want to be more comfortable but maybe that's a meaningless distinction.

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 2 months ago

Yeah, this idea scares me.

[–] reallykindasorta@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I thought they just didn’t breed in my habitat last time I moved— turns out they can breed here but they’re quite tightly managed.

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[–] Wrench@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (9 children)

Mosquitos are pollinators. And in some parts of the world that have extreme seasons that can't sustain bees, they seem rather important to the ecosystem.

Instead of eradicating them, genetically engineering away the numbing in their saliva that causes the allergic reaction in humans could be a solution.

I'll trade a couple weeks of itchy bites for a briefly painful bite any day.

Sure, humans would kill them instantly on feeling the bite, but most animals are not capable of that. Their populations would be fine.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 30 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You think people want to extinguish mosquitoes because they bite is annoying?!

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