this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2023
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What animal or insect going extinct would have the greatest impact on the ecosystem? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by MadCybertist@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Curious on some replies here. I always hear having bees go extinct would be horrible for us. Curious if that’s the worse?

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[–] Susaga@sh.itjust.works 32 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Humans, probably. Just look at the impact COVID had on the environment.

[–] phase_change@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 years ago

Yeah, runaway global warming might not happen. Plant monocultures would begin to disappear. New invasive species wouldn’t happen, though existing ones might have a better time for a bit. Major thoroughfares wouldn’t create barriers to migration. Dams might take centuries to collapse, but I think humans going extinct might have one of the biggest impacts.

[–] havilland@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 years ago

Ever wondered what happened to all these bugs on the car when driving through the countryside? There is already something big happening and we are just getting started.

Here is a talk on the topic of insects driven to the point of extinction due to neonicotinoid pesticides (unfortunately the talk is in german. Maybe someone is able to find a english version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_p9yYXZuCI

[–] metalgeek@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Bees

[–] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 years ago

Or the hounds? Or the hounds the when they bark, shoot bees out of their mouth?

[–] animist@lemmy.one 6 points 2 years ago

Bees probably

[–] plum@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Humans going extinct would probably be the most beneficial.

[–] Fondots@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Humans going extinct would probably have an enormous impact.

[–] Drewsteau@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Bees and coral are both great answers, but I’m going to go with spiders. The amount of smaller pest insects that spiders consume is definitely overlooked and without them just imagine the swarms of bugs that would aggregate during the summer months

[–] Discoslugs@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Many species of flies are foundational in the food web.

flies are also great pollenators

[–] OptimusPrime@lemmy.moonling.nl 0 points 2 years ago

Birds