Flynn's questions are:
1. Are these (and other) species directly affected by the insecticide (which
chemicals are used post-DDT?) and/or are mosquitoes ecologically
important -- even keystone -- species?
2. What happens when you remove a parasite from the foodweb?
3. Our field crew is, among other things, cataloging the vegetation in the
area -- could we expect to see e.g. fewer flowering plants?
4. Anything else we could look for?
4. Is anyone doing research on this quasi-Silent Spring phenomenon or know
more about the possible ramifications of parasite/pest control?
Either these are good questions relevant to the mission of this list, and as
such deserving of answers, or they are not. In the absence of such answers,
or a polite reply that he should seek his answers elsewhere (an implied
declaration that the questions are not relevant), what would be Flynn's
reasonable conclusions with respect to the subscribers of this list?
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Cherubini" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 9:10 AM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Mosquitoes as keystone species?
Conor_Flynn wrote:
we've noticed something interesting: there are no
mosquitoes in or near Alamosa. This is because the
city sprays for them regularly. We have also noticed
fewer grasshoppers, bees, and frogs than we might
otherwise expect.
Michael Cooperman wrote:
I don't know what chemical your county uses for mosquito
control but probably it is not specific to mosquitoes and
would affect other insects just as strongly.
Interesting these comments suggesting great harm to
both mosquitoes and non-target insects appeared just after
Mitch Cruzan said: "Critical thinking/reading is a primary goal
of all graduate programs and is something we introduce
undergraduates to in advanced courses."
A critical thinker would say it wildly speculative for anyone to
claim, without extensive direct evidence, that:
1) There really are no mosquitoes and fewer grasshoppers, bees,
and frogs in Alamosa, Colorado.
2) Mosquito spraying is the underlying cause of these declines.
Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.
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