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Couldn't the closed ecosystem be extremely fragile to outsiders? Or would other organisms be so unadapted that the risk is almost non-existent? Conversely, wou
by MayeulC 6y ago
Couldn't the closed ecosystem be extremely fragile to outsiders? Or would other organisms be so unadapted that the risk is almost non-existent?
Conversely, would bringing some of these back endanger the local ecosystem? (maybe not endanger, but it could be an invasive species in more favourable conditions).
- COGlory 6y agoThe risk is essentially negligible. The environments are too extremely different for either one to directly invade the other.
- neuronic 6y ago? Invasive species like humans can do a lot of physical damage to the environment that other life depends on. Sure, most humans cannot infect gorillas but they sure as hell can take away their habitat.
- COGlory 6y agoWe're talking about microbes though.
- MayeulC 6y agoAre we? I would have likened those species under Antarctica ice to ~plants (well, sponges are technically considered animals). Invasive starfish species and algae are a thing, for instance. Some invasive species have adapted to sustain themselves with little light or nutriments. When placed in richer environments, they can reproduce really quickly, outnumber other species and drive them out by competing for resources.
- doggodaddo78 6y agoIt also depends if it was "closed" for how long, how "closed" it is, and the nature of the contamination. The most dangerous potential contamination would seem to be from similar modern ecosystems in other parts of the world.