Somewhat weird question about head lice

[tansy]

Do you reckon (not that it would be possible, even if everyone agreed) that if everyone in the whole world simultaneously shaved all their hair off, that head lice would all die, never to return, or do you think they would attach themselves to another host...a cat perhaps, though perhaps they'd have to quickly adapt to do that. How quickly could such an adaptation occur...I think it would have to be practically immediate as,as far as I'm aware, head lice don't last long once they're out of their natural? environment.

 

[CabVet]

Do you reckon (not that it would be possible, even if everyone agreed) that if everyone in the whole world simultaneously shaved all their hair off, that head lice would all die, never to return, or do you think they would attach themselves to another host...a cat perhaps, though perhaps they'd have to quickly adapt to do that. How quickly could such an adaptation occur...I think it would have to be practically immediate as,as far as I'm aware, head lice don't last long once they're out of their natural? environment.

Haha, I guess you didn't hear about what is going on with pubic hair lice (a.k.a. "crabs"). Check this out:

Brazilian bikini wax making crab lice endangered - CBS News

But to answer your question, it is theoretically possible (hard, but possible) for them to adapt, but we will never know until something like that actually happens.

 

[Davian]

Haha, I guess you didn't hear about what is going on with pubic hair lice (a.k.a. "crabs"). Check this out:

Brazilian bikini wax making crab lice endangered - CBS News

But to answer your question, it is theoretically possible (hard, but possible) for them to adapt, but we will never know until something like that actually happens.

"Add to that other aspects of body hair depilation, and you can see an environmental disaster in the making for this species."

I lol'd.

 

[tansy]

Thanks for your replies Cabvet and Davian.

So next question is, what would happen if the 'environment became terminally disastrous for crabs, lice etc? Would that upset the delicate balance of species or something? You know, like red squirrels nearly being wiped out by grey squirrels or whatever?

In other words, do lice of whatever sort perform a useful function and we'd all be doomed if they were all wiped out?

 

[CabVet]

Thanks for your replies Cabvet and Davian.

So next question is, what would happen if the 'environment became terminally disastrous for crabs, lice etc? Would that upset the delicate balance of species or something? You know, like red squirrels nearly being wiped out by grey squirrels or whatever?

In other words, do lice of whatever sort perform a useful function and we'd all be doomed if they were all wiped out?

Well, a complicated question, and the problem is that we know so little about ecosystems and species interactions that it is very hard to predict. But just as an example, there are some real possibilities of lice having "utility", take a look at this article:

UK: Unexpected benefits from lice - University World News

The problem with extinctions is that most of the time we only learn what their consequences are after the species is gone.

 

[tansy]

Well, a complicated question, and the problem is that we know so little about ecosystems and species interactions that it is very hard to predict. But just as an example, there are some real possibilities of lice having "utility", take a look at this article:

UK: Unexpected benefits from lice - University World News

The problem with extinctions is that most of the time we only learn what their consequences are after the species is gone.

Thanks for the link. That's very interesting. Trouble is of course, if we all hung on to the lice for the sake of immunity, we'd all be very uncomfortably itchy all the time - and of course, in the case of headlice, in the end they can be poitively harmful..hence expressions such as feeling lousy and nitwit :o

 

[Davian]

Thanks for your replies Cabvet and Davian.

So next question is, what would happen if the 'environment became terminally disastrous for crabs, lice etc? Would that upset the delicate balance of species or something? You know, like red squirrels nearly being wiped out by grey squirrels or whatever?

In other words, do lice of whatever sort perform a useful function and we'd all be doomed if they were all wiped out?

I See Cabvet has posted a response.

Not related to humans, but this brings to mind an interesting story I heard recently about Trematode parasites. These parasites prey on fish, infesting their brains; birds eat the fish, and the parasite lays its eggs in the gut of the bird; the eggs are picked up by snails in the water, where the larvae eat the gonads of the snails, before leaving and infesting the brains of more fish.

But, without the parasite, the snail population might run out of control; the fish might be too elusive for the birds to catch (the infected fish are 10 to 30 times more likely to get eaten), and the birds would have to look elsewhere for food. The ecosystem 'depends' on this parasite.

USGS WERC Outreach - Night of the Brain Snatchers!

 

[Papias]

Going from weird to weirder on this thread (lice, bikini's, brain snatcher zombie makers, etc), but that's cool.

So to add to the factual weirdness - no discussion of pubic lice is complete without this rather disturbing finding:

Gorillas Gave Pubic Lice to Humans, DNA Study Reveals

We got pubic lice from doing "something" with gorillas.......

Papias

 

[Tomk80]

Thanks for your replies Cabvet and Davian.

So next question is, what would happen if the 'environment became terminally disastrous for crabs, lice etc? Would that upset the delicate balance of species or something? You know, like red squirrels nearly being wiped out by grey squirrels or whatever?

In other words, do lice of whatever sort perform a useful function and we'd all be doomed if they were all wiped out?

Although this is pure speculation, I think that in the case of head lice there would not be any problem. Given that, as far as I know, they do not have natural predators that depend solely on head lice, or even on head lice as a major food source, there would not be a a problem there. And I also do not think there would suddenly be a problem with the human population running out of control because head lice had been eradicated.

As a parallel example, human fleas have largely been eradicated in the Netherlands, but without any consequences to other ecosystems.

 

[Jade Margery]

Thanks for your replies Cabvet and Davian.

So next question is, what would happen if the 'environment became terminally disastrous for crabs, lice etc? Would that upset the delicate balance of species or something? You know, like red squirrels nearly being wiped out by grey squirrels or whatever?

In other words, do lice of whatever sort perform a useful function and we'd all be doomed if they were all wiped out?

Most of the species that have ever lived on this planet have gone extinct. Probably a good thing too, because since diversity is always increasing through evolution, maintaining breedable populations of every kind of creature that ever has been would take up way too many resources and there just wouldn't be enough space on the planet.

I don't think destroying head lice once and for all would do us any harm, but it might leave a tasty niche open for some other head-parasite. Just because we destroy one kind of bug doesn't mean another couldn't evolve to take its place.

Going from weird to weirder on this thread (lice, bikini's, brain snatcher zombie makers, etc), but that's cool.

So to add to the factual weirdness - no discussion of pubic lice is complete without this rather disturbing finding:

Gorillas Gave Pubic Lice to Humans, DNA Study Reveals

We got pubic lice from doing "something" with gorillas.......

Papias

Wearing them as loin cloths, perhaps? XD

 

[Oafman]

Most of the species that have ever lived on this planet have gone extinct.

This is true to the extent that, if you round to the nearest percentile, it's 100%, or all of them

 

[Subduction Zone]

Haha, I guess you didn't hear about what is going on with pubic hair lice (a.k.a. "crabs"). Check this out:

Brazilian bikini wax making crab lice endangered - CBS News

But to answer your question, it is theoretically possible (hard, but possible) for them to adapt, but we will never know until something like that actually happens.

I hope the EPA does not learn of this environmental threat.

 

[CabVet]

I hope the EPA does not learn of this environmental threat.

LOL I can see the headlines: "EPA bans Brazilian waxing to save endangered lice!"

 

[tansy]

I See Cabvet has posted a response.

Not related to humans, but this brings to mind an interesting story I heard recently about Trematode parasites. These parasites prey on fish, infesting their brains; birds eat the fish, and the parasite lays its eggs in the gut of the bird; the eggs are picked up by snails in the water, where the larvae eat the gonads of the snails, before leaving and infesting the brains of more fish.

But, without the parasite, the snail population might run out of control; the fish might be too elusive for the birds to catch (the infected fish are 10 to 30 times more likely to get eaten), and the birds would have to look elsewhere for food. The ecosystem 'depends' on this parasite.

USGS WERC Outreach - Night of the Brain Snatchers!

Eurgh! Horrible. It's like that female spider (can't remember which one) where once the male spiders mated with her she kind of ingests him. Yuk! Thank God we don't reproduce like that. Actually, contrary to what some women might say, I think we do need men, even if only for lugging heavy items about and reachin high things without standing on a chair

 

[tansy]

LOL I can see the headlines: "EPA bans Brazilian waxing to save endangered lice!"

Or animal rights groups waving banners 'Save endangered lice'

 

[tansy]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

So, given that it's quite probable that eradicating headlice would not upset the world's ecological balance, and given that so many species have become extinct, what do you think would be the minimum different species groups (sorry if I'm not using quite the right terminology - not sure if I should say family, genera or what) would there have to be, in the case of some sort of mass wipeout, for the ecosystem as it is to be maintained.

 

[dbcsf]

Thanks for your replies Cabvet and Davian.

So next question is, what would happen if the 'environment became terminally disastrous for crabs, lice etc? Would that upset the delicate balance of species or something? You know, like red squirrels nearly being wiped out by grey squirrels or whatever?

In other words, do lice of whatever sort perform a useful function and we'd all be doomed if they were all wiped out?

The converse answer to your question is that it is a definite advantage to be very adaptable. I do believe all the head lice would go extinct. Humans, at least currently, can live in many different climates and eat many different foods. It would take a lot more to do us in. Likewise for cockroaches and rats, unfortunately.

 

[tansy]

The converse answer to your question is that it is a definite advantage to be very adaptable. I do believe all the head lice would go extinct. Humans, at least currently, can live in many different climates and eat many different foods. It would take a lot more to do us in. Likewise for cockroaches and rats, unfortunately.

Yes, I think they say that there is always a rat within 3 feet of you (if I remember correctly)..well very close anyway. This is in England I think :o

 

[JustMeSee]

Eurgh! Horrible. It's like that female spider (can't remember which one) where once the male spiders mated with her she kind of ingests him. Yuk! Thank God we don't reproduce like that. Actually, contrary to what some women might say, I think we do need men, even if only for lugging heavy items about and reachin high things without standing on a chair

... And killing bugs and spiders in the house.

 

[Jade Margery]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

So, given that it's quite probable that eradicating headlice would not upset the world's ecological balance, and given that so many species have become extinct, what do you think would be the minimum different species groups (sorry if I'm not using quite the right terminology - not sure if I should say family, genera or what) would there have to be, in the case of some sort of mass wipeout, for the ecosystem as it is to be maintained.

Eeeeeehhhh...

That question kind of doesn't make sense, though it's not a bad thing to think about. The thing is, the only way you could completely upset the world's ecological balance would be to wipe out every single species on the planet, in which case the balance would simply not exist. Given enough time, any ecosystem will adapt to the addition or subtraction of any species from it. It balances automatically, though not without a lot of suffering for the creatures dealing with the re-balancing.

So long as there is a food source though, something will develop the ability to take advantage of it. Sure, if one species goes extinct other species may have also go extinct or become over populated, but eventually things will even out. The ecosystem may look much different once this re-balancing occurs, but there will still be organisms living successfully in it and that's really all it takes.

A lot of people feel that reducing biodiversity is a bad thing for its own sake. They don't want to see a world without tigers or wolves or kiwis. But in the long run, nature could not give a flying fart about whether tigers or wolves or kiwis or even humans go extinct. The world will keep on turning, habitats will keep on being inhabited, and ecosystems will keep on evolving, regardless.

What we have to worry about is avoiding being one of those species that dies off just because another species dies off, or dealing with a lot of hardship and suffering through one of those re-balancings. We may be coming to such a point with honeybees, for instance. Honeybees are slowly disappearing and scientists aren't entirely sure why, though there are a lot of different theories being floated. Unfortunately for us, they do a lot more than just make honey. They are responsible for pollinating a third of our agriculture produce. If they disappear entirely, we will have to adapt to survive without them, and it won't be easy.