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Episode 2: Mosquito Eradication & Their Role in the Environment
An overview of the ecological importance of mosquitoes, the pros and cons of their eradication along with an example of how they change the number of birds in France.
Articles used for the podcast are:
Red flag for green spray: adverse trophic effects of Bti on breeding birds by Brigitte Poulin, Gaetan Lefebvre and Leire Paz
Mosquitoes: schemes to render them extinct are impracticable by Stephen M. Smith
Mosquitoes: first evaluate impacts of eradicating them by Jon D. Hoekstra
Mosquitoes: retain an ex situ population for ecological insurance by Ben Phalan
Mosquitoes: just how much biodiversity does humanity need? by Fern Wickson
Here's Why It's a Very Bad Idea to Wipe Mosquitoes Off the Face of the Earth by Michael Casey
Note: the mosquito pictured in the Vice article is a male elephant mosquito, which is of both the species and the sex which do not take blood.The idea of eradicating mosquitoes is a very old one, but even if we could do it, should we? Vector biologists and ecologists struggle with the data that we have and look for more but the decision is ultimately in the hands of our political leaders who decide whether or not to give the go ahead to eradication campaigns like the one in Florida.
The music for this podcast is by http://www.bensound.com/badass
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44. Episode 44: Poison of the Past
25:24||Ep. 44Anyone growing up in the United States during the 1950s or 60s has memories of chasing trucks down the road as they doused the neighborhood in a mosquito-killing fog. The story of that fog is part of the broader epic of the insecticide DDT. With a cast ranging from Dr. Suess, the entire population of Naples, peregrine falcons, to a trendy shade of green.
43. Episode 43: Unexpected Vampires
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Invitation: Intelligent Speech Conference -online-
01:07|Join me and more than 40 of your other favorite independent podcasters at the Intelligent Speech Conference. Get 10% off your ticket price when you use the offer code
42. Episode 42: Malaria Islands
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