Even animals that seem insignificant or disgusting to some people have their importance, as they are part of a complex food chain. But it wouldn’t be the end of the world if any of the animals mentioned above disappeared from the planet. There would not be a disastrous environmental imbalance. “There are so many insects on Earth that, if a species becomes extinct, it will be replaced by another to play the same role”, says biologist Odair Bueno, from the Center for the Study of Social Insects at the São Paulo State University (Unesp). And one of those roles, of course, is to mess up our lives a little. Bugs such as cockroaches, mosquitoes and ants have developed such an intimate relationship with man that they have become real urban pests. “They compete fiercely with humans by using the same food and even our waste”, says the biologist.
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Save the lizards! Ending unpopular species would bring more problems in nature
CHEAP
The problem depends on the cockroaches to be eliminated. The urban ones wouldn’t really be missed. But people don’t even imagine that the cockroaches that live in nature have an important function: they feed on animal remains, bird droppings and decomposing plant material. And these activities are essential to keep the forest alive.
MOSQUITO
“In cities, eliminating mosquitoes would have no major consequences”, says entomologist Delsio Natal, from USP’s School of Public Health. However, if wild mosquitoes disappeared, the food chain of certain fish that eat their larvae would be impacted. That is, there could be less freshwater fish for us to eat
LIZARD
Their disappearance would perhaps cause an overpopulation of mosquitoes, flies and other insects that make our lives hell, but which are part of the lizards’ menu. “But they would be localized and transient environmental alterations”, says biologist Hussam Zaher, from the Museum of Zoology at USP
ANT
They act as nature’s gardeners: they dig the soil, help to ventilate it and spread seeds. In addition, they eat both live and dead animals. “Ants are among the main predators of other insects. If they were extinct, their population would certainly increase, with negative consequences for humans”, says Odair Bueno