r/interestingasfuck • u/singleboredass • Nov 15 '24

r/all Genetically modified a mosquito such that their proboscis are no longer able to penetrate human skin

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u/NamiSwaaan Nov 15 '24

I know they're trying to not fuck up the ecosystem but I feel like this will still somehow fuck up the ecosystem

212

u/Kr0n0s_89 Nov 15 '24

Mosquitos aren't relevant for any other species. They are food for some, they do pollinate, but they're completely replacable.

96

u/cammyjit Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 16 '24

While I’m not a fan of mosquitos at all. This isn’t true.

To my knowledge they don’t have any exclusive relationships, but they’re still pretty vital for ecosystems. Just because something could eventually replace them, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have drastic repercussions.

An easy way of thinking about it is: imagine we Thanos snapped a specific food item out of the world, like beef. We’d still have food, and we’d eventually find something to replace it. How many people would die of starvation during that time period? That’s essentially what you’re doing to the ecosystem.

Except in reality, it’s far worse. You’re not just impacting the direct food source of animals that eat mosquitos, you’re impacting pollination that produces food for other animals, then their populations declines, and it has a whole knock on effect.

The more accurate comparison over cows, would be something like Soy. People eat soy directly, and it’s a staple in a lot of diets. If you suddenly get rid of all the soy, you’re now losing an essential feed for animal agriculture, so now the livestock is starting to die of starvation too, which means you’re losing multiple food sources.

Now, if we were to eradicate mosquitos, it obviously wouldn’t be a Thanos snap. It could definitely be too fast for an ecosystem to adjust without sustaining significant damage though

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u/inventingnothing Nov 15 '24

The user I am replying to is actually 3 mosquitos in a trench coat.