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| Vol. 4, Issue 5 May 2012 |
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Goings On |
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Redundancy |
Final Word: Mosquitoes are Redundant
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Published :1 September 2010 |
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| For those bitten and pocked millions who wonder what purpose mosquitoes serve, the official scientific word is out—not much, and certainly nothing that can’t be done by other non-bloodsuckers. Malaria hits 247 million people worldwide every year, killing nearly a million. Mosquitoes also spread yellow fever, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, the Chikungunya virus and West Nile virus. The 3,500 mosquito species have evolved over 100 million years have done nothing but exsanguinate and kill. The worst hurt by their hypothetical elimination would be the mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) that eat them, but these piscine gourmets would recover to find other delectables. So would many species of insects, arachnids, salamander, lizards and frogs. Entomologist Joe Conlon of the American Mosquito Control Association in Jacksonville, Florida, says, “If we eradicated them tomorrow, the ecosystems where they are active will hiccup and then get on with life. Something better or worse would take over.”
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