[note: moral anti-realist here. “what matters” can legitimately differ among evaluators, although there are some very common datapoints on each side of the line.]
I think there’s a much simpler answer here. Ecosystems matter, individual frogs and insects don’t. Basically, a one-word answer to your title question, “no”.
There remains very difficult questions about what attributes make individuals matter, and where is the line or gradient from rocks or frogs not mattering to your sibling mattering a lot as an individual.
[note: moral anti-realist here. “what matters” can legitimately differ among evaluators, although there are some very common datapoints on each side of the line.]
I think there’s a much simpler answer here. Ecosystems matter, individual frogs and insects don’t. Basically, a one-word answer to your title question, “no”.
There remains very difficult questions about what attributes make individuals matter, and where is the line or gradient from rocks or frogs not mattering to your sibling mattering a lot as an individual.