If interested regarding your debate and information on the importance of mosquitoes, especially their control - you may want to look at the following articles - based on a 7-year study (before and after) of a mosquito control program -
Hershey, A.E., A.R. Lima, G.J. Niemi, and R.R. Regal. 1998. Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) and methoprene on non-target macroinvertebrates in Minnesota wetlands. Ecological Applications 8:41-60. Niemi, G.J., A.E. Hershey, L. Shannon, J.M. Hanowski, A. Lima, R.P. Axler, and R.R. Regal. 1999. Ecological effects of mosquito control on zooplankton, insects, and birds. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 18:549-559. -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ted & Linda Mosquin Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 9:23 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Mosquitoes as keystone species? Hello Amanda: There is a considerable literature, particularly from the 20th Century on the role played by various mosquito species in pollinating woodland flowers, particularly the small orchid species (Platanthera) but other northern orchid genera as well. Many of these orchids have an "ambush device" which comes in the form of a pollinarium (very sticky pollen sacs) which get affixed to a visiting female mosquito's body as she probes for the nectar offered by these orchids. Mosquitoes are weak insects and can't dislodge these pollen structures so one can often catch a few females flying around with them. Some years ago I wrote a summary article on pollination of northern orchids. It has been published in "Legacy, a Natural History of Ontario" edited by John B. Theberge. It might be found on the web. You should be able to find the book on E-bay, or Amazon. _________________ Ted Mosquin Amanda Quillen wrote: > Can anyone speak about the capacity of mosquitoes themselves as > pollinators? I know they spend much more time eating nectar than blood > (which only the females do when they are breeding). I wondered if anyone > happened to know how effective they are as pollinators. > > Also, could it be helpful to consider pollinators or insects as > a "keystone group"? Removing the occupiers of a "niche" could certainly > effect the whole system. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ECOLOG- > [email protected]] On Behalf Of James Crants > Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 10:00 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Mosquitoes as keystone species? > > >> I agree with you the rest of your post, except to say that not all >> mosquitoes are human-feeders, and not all are WNV-vectors (only those >> that bite both birds and mammals are). >> > > > >>> Fewer bees probably does equate with fewer flowering plants. >>> > > > In the same spirit, I should add that many flowering plants are long- > lived perennials, many use pollinators other than bees (possibly in > addition to bees), and many are capable of pollinating themselves or > producing seeds asexually (and, if you want to call clonal > growth "reproduction," a whole lot of them do that, too). So their > abundances cannot be expected to track bee abundances very closely. On > the other hand, if flowering plant abundance IS strongly correlated with > bee abundance across space or time in your study system, it could be the > bee populations that are tracking the plant populations. > > This is what makes ecology so challenging! > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.387 / Virus Database: 270.13.9/2229 - Release Date: 07/10/09 07:05:00 > >
