Genetically Engineered Mosquito

[bigfield]

I don't know anything about this beyond a vague recollection of having read about GE mozzies a little while ago.

From what I understand, this is not meant to eradicate the mosquitoes. It can't, because there's no way to ensure every mosquito inherits the kill gene. Rather, it's intended to massively suppress the population of the Aedes aegypti. When the population recovers, they just release another wave of duds. It's safer than spraying mosquito killer everywhere.

 

[bigfield]

Mature mosquitoes (not just the larvae) are a major food source for birds, fish, and other wildlife. Will this impact them?

Aedes aegypti is only 1% of the mosquitoes in Florida, according to the article, so probably not a problem.

 

[starwater]

Then the mosquitoes that have this gene die out?

There is even theoretically no way to know what will happen when these mosquitoes are introduced. I suggested a ferinstance, but the thing about that is that trying to engineer for all possibilities is not possible. The results cannot be determined without running the experiment. People who say it is safe are purely relying on hope because complex systems are complex. It is bad advice to say it is probably safe.

Nonsense.

Resilient systems are resilient.

If the system isn't resilient, it's doomed anyway.

That's not hope, it's observation.

But the system is not static.

 

[bilby]

Nonsense.

Resilient systems are resilient.

If the system isn't resilient, it's doomed anyway.

That's not hope, it's observation.

But the system is not static.

I never suggested that it was.

And if it was, it couldn't be resilient.

 

[starwater]

Nonsense.

Resilient systems are resilient.

If the system isn't resilient, it's doomed anyway.

That's not hope, it's observation.

But the system is not static.

I never suggested that it was.

And if it was, it couldn't be resilient.

A reservoir for example can be both a static and dynamic system.

 

[Jokodo]

What if all the dead larvae create breeding grounds for bacteria that cause other problems for flora and fauna?

This page claims that an adult female mosquito weighs about 2 milligrams. If I did my math right, that means 1.5 tonnes for the lot. That's the equivalent biomass of about 2-3 adult cows, 5-8 adult American Alligators, or 20-30 adult White-tailed Deer. I don't know how many cows go missing or how many deer or alligators perish in an average two years in Florida, but I suspect that they offer a much more fertile breeding ground for bacteria than any number of mosquitoes that are ever going to be released realistically.

What if the females don’t want to breed with the engineer male?

Then the program will be less efficient than what they hoped for. However, the article also quotes field tests in the Cayman Islands, Brazil and Panama where the population was successfully reduced by up to 95%.

What if some of the larvae do live and they mutate to something that causes more damage.

Fewer surviving mosquitoes means fewer, not more, opportunities for mutating "to something that causes more damage". It's not like non-GMOs are immune to mutations.

Unintended consequences.

No plausible candidates have been identified.

 

[fromderinside]

A reservoir for example can be both a static and dynamic system.

Not if water flows .... and who ever heard of a reservoir not being drawn upon.

 

[starwater]

A reservoir for example can be both a static and dynamic system.

Not if water flows .... and who ever heard of a reservoir not being drawn upon.

I have and I am a subject matter expert.