why are mosquitoes important to the ecosystem? What would happen if they went extinct?
This is for my Biology class. I have been trying to do some research but I would like to hear the expertise of someone who knows more about the subject than I do. Please only give a serious response; I know a lot of people do not like nor appreciate the mosquito, but even they must have a purpose within the ecosystem.
Thank you!
Tagged as: biology class · Ecosystem · mosquito
It would be devistating. Mosquitos are lowest on the food chain, so if that was completely diminished then it would affect the level above it (like frogs…) which then affects the environment AND what evers eating it.
So imagine this happening on an island. Somewhere completely isolated. The environment and other populations are also affected. Generally also, as one population decreases, another seems to benefit.
^^The person above mentioned that mosquitos carry disease which is true but not ALL carry disease… And some diseases and viruses are beneficial and humans find a way to adapt to them (think like malaria, RBC’s are sickled shaped and life expectancy for a person with malaria has been raised to just over about 25 without any therapeutic intervention, this is because of adaptation). So the mosquito is also beneficial in a way to evolution..
Mosquitos are vectors; they can carry around diseases and viruses. If a person has a virus and the mosquito sucks the persons blood, the virus might hitchhike in the mosquito until it is transported into a different organism. When a virus is transferred into another organism via the moquito sucking blood, the organism is then infected. The organism that is infected might then die from the virus. In this way the ecosystem is maintained. Mosquitoes can carry around viruses that are deadly. The ecosystem is maintained because the population of different organisms are maintained. Without the viruses, death rate might be slower, causing bigger populations and chaos.
Just a quick response to the person below me:
1. I did not say all mosquitoes carry diseases. Notice how I mention they were vectors meaning that they are capable of carring diseases. I also forgot to mention that only females suck blood.
2. While having sickle cells may be an advantage in some ways, sickle cell itself can also affect the individual in a negative way.