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Re:Researchers rethink life in a cold climate after Antarcti... by MayeulC on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @03:57PM (#26158729)
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).

Re:Researchers rethink life in a cold climate after Antarcti... by COGlory on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @05:09PM (#26159384)
The risk is essentially negligible. The environments are too extremely different for either one to directly invade the other.
Re:Researchers rethink life in a cold climate after Antarcti... by neuronic on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @03:25AM (#26164018)
? 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.

Re:Researchers rethink life in a cold climate after Antarcti... by COGlory on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @04:01PM (#26171714)
We're talking about microbes though.
Re:Researchers rethink life in a cold climate after Antarcti... by MayeulC on Friday February 19, 2021 @03:15AM (#26190783)
Are 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.

Re:Researchers rethink life in a cold climate after Antarcti... by doggodaddo78 on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @11:18PM (#26162639)
It 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.