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

  • Susaga
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    1 year ago

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

    • phase_change
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      1 year 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
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    1 year 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

    • rm_dash_r_star@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Definitely the phytoplankton since it provides the bulk of Earth’s oxygen production. Oxygen only exists because the ecosystem replenishes it. If all oxygen production stopped it would only take a few thousand years to deplete completely. Oxygen binds quickly with everything around it.

  • Drewsteau@lemmy.world
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    1 year 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