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Home Q & A Board Biology-Related Homework Help Environmental and Conservation Biology
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nycaznfreak nycaznfreak
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12 years ago
What purpose do mosquitoes serve in the ecosystem?  To put it another way, what would happen if we exterminated all of the annoying, disease-spreading blood-suckers?
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wrote...
#1
12 years ago
Mosquitoes serve the same purpose in their ecosystem as lawyers serve in our society, namely to be "annoying, disease-spreading blood suckers".
wrote...
#2
12 years ago
It seems their primary ecological contribution is as a major disease vector.  There aren't a ton of things that feed on them, and those that do tend to have them as a small effect.

Like most disease vectors, they tend to keep large populations down (large populations are more likely to be diseased; an example of negative feedback).
wrote...
#3
12 years ago
They serve as food for some other organisms such as lizards, insects, etc.  So they are part of food chains.

If they were exterminated, then certain diseases would not be carried by them, and organisms would not suffer the itching, etc. that is brought upon when the females feed upon blood.

But they are just doing what they need to in order to survive, just like any other organism.  

And they do not need to serve a purpose for man.
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