Can Mosquitoes Be Extinct in the Arctic?
WouterHundreds of millions of people around the world are affected by mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and West Nile virus. While mosquitoes are not the primary cause of these diseases, they do contribute to the spread of the virus.
The question of how to eradicate mosquitoes has popped up in recent years. It’s a complex question with multiple solutions. Among the solutions, genetic modification has been proposed as an approach to control the problem.
One technique involves modifying a single gene in the mosquito to stop the female from biting. Another is known as a ‘gene drive’, which involves forcing the mosquito to pass on a specific trait to its offspring. The ‘gene drive’ method has been successfully used to ‘drive’ malaria-carrying mosquitoes to extinction.
However, this method has many drawbacks. First, the process is expensive. Second, it’s not sure how much the technology will actually work. A third drawback is that the process hasn’t been tested in a controlled laboratory setting.
There’s no doubt that mosquitoes play a major role in the ecosystems of many regions, including the Arctic. They may also slow down deforestation. But it’s not clear how well their removal would affect the ecosystem.
In the Arctic, mosquitoes are abundant. They form thick swarms in the cold and lay their eggs when it’s warm. They’re also big feeders of freshwater fish. In addition, they’re a major source of food for migratory birds.
Without mosquitoes, there could be major changes in the ecosystem. For instance, hundreds of species of fish would have to change their diets. This would affect not only the fish, but the other species that live in the lake or river.
