Re: Species impact
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One of the things I was thinking of is not what affects the ecosystem but what prevented humans from affecting the ecosystem.
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Rduke,
I think there are 3 questions here all of which are interesting:
1) The original question as to which species is currently second after humans.
2) The one given in your quote above as to what species prevents humans from having an even greater impact on the ecosystem.
3) And which species if humans were all removed from the planet tomorrow, would have the greatest impact on the ecosystem to the detriment of the most other species.
I don't know the answers, but tolbiny's rat answer is likely a good candidate for #2 as is yours regarding the mosquito. However as 3/4 of the planet is covered in oceans, something aquatic like algae also has to be considered. And the fact that there is currently no other primate species capable of making fire is also significant regarding atmospheric impacts.
But regarding #2 again, there might not be a dominant disease causing virus or bacteria that holds humans back from a greater impact, but rather a group that collectively does so, or which alternate over time.
It is also worth noting, that many predator species that would otherwise be candidates for the original question, are held in check if not extincted by humans, so the real second place might not be the same if humans didn't have as great an impact on those other predators.
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