I once saw an article asking biologists this very question. I wish I could find it.
What I recall is:
* some species of mosquitos are an important part of ecosystems, e.g. a big chunk of biomass in tundra regions. (I didn't even know there were any mosquitos there!)
* but the specific species that carry malaria: no. They gave some general platitudes about niches and every species being important... Almost. These ones, kill them all. The important stuff these mosquitos do can be done by other insects.
Edit: https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a looks pretty similar to what I read. Either this one is slightly more nuanced or my memory dropped some of the nuance.
yes... I come from the tropics. I have always fantasized abput escaping to Alaska where 'there would be no mosquitoes'. But then I saw Grizzly Man. More frightening than the bear was the fact that the couple were wearing nets to cover their faces from mosquitoes.
Only on a short term basis. As the snow is melting, this creates a large number of small, shallow ponds where mosquitoes can breed without being eaten by fish. As the year progresses, these ponds dry up, reducing habitat to those permanent lakes which likely have fish present that predate the water part of the mosquito lifecycle. Moreover, there is a lag introduced by the predator-prey dynamics, in particular short lived species like dragonflies and mosquito hawks that predate the flying stage. Thus, it can take a few weeks for these predators to start reducing the number of mosquitoes.
Source: I’m hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and I have been swarmed by mosquitoes on several occasions. Mosquitoes were particularly bad in Yosemite in late June and Washington in early August; mosquitoes are finally letting up now that theses processes are taking place. Let me just say mosquitoes make the most of that interval before predators dominate.
What I recall is:
* some species of mosquitos are an important part of ecosystems, e.g. a big chunk of biomass in tundra regions. (I didn't even know there were any mosquitos there!)
* but the specific species that carry malaria: no. They gave some general platitudes about niches and every species being important... Almost. These ones, kill them all. The important stuff these mosquitos do can be done by other insects.
Edit: https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a looks pretty similar to what I read. Either this one is slightly more nuanced or my memory dropped some of the nuance.