Chapter 2: There are 57 billion nematodes per human. Boreal forests pack 7× more per square meter than cropland. The numbers, the mechanisms, and why pesticides might make things worse.
Hi Dawn. Thanks for looking into soil invertebrates, and my posts.
"One might naively think that pesticides reduce invertebrate suffering by reducing their populations. But the relationship between pesticides and welfare is more complex – and possibly perverse."
This is my best guess, but it is very uncertain. I would not be surprised if effects on soil nematodes were negligible compared with effects on soil arthropods.
Hi Dawn. Thanks for looking into soil invertebrates, and my posts.
"One might naively think that pesticides reduce invertebrate suffering by reducing their populations. But the relationship between pesticides and welfare is more complex – and possibly perverse."
I do not think pesticides would robustly decrease suffering even if they only changed the population of soil invertebrates, and not their welfare per animal-year (https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/pEbiEmeu2agEHJgyu/a-database-of-near-term-interventions-for-wild-animals?commentId=r7bCtdh8MWp2J9jqi).
"1. Effects on soil animals dwarf effects on intended beneficiaries."
I can see this being the case, but I am also open to effects on soil animals being negligible (https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/L9NZGB7xbxiwgndPk/welfare-biology-and-ai-the-quiz?commentId=wMx8KvXzPBdGMvc9M).
"2. Agricultural land has fewer soil animals."
I think agricultural land has less soil arthropods, but I have little idea about whether it has more or less soil nematodes (https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/WbmDhpqKcT8gjwpso/saving-human-lives-cheaply-is-the-most-cost-effective-way-of?commentId=yx6pS5mbjksiGp8fg). The vast majority of soil animals are nematodes. So I also have little idea about whether agricultural land has more or less soil animals.
"3. Nematodes dominate."
This is my best guess, but it is very uncertain. I would not be surprised if effects on soil nematodes were negligible compared with effects on soil arthropods.
Thanks! I've update the article!