An organism such as bacteria could contribute to an important ecosystem service in a closed ecosystem on Mars by breaking down organic matter and recycling nutrients for plant growth. This would ensure a sustainable production of food for human colonies.
One ecosystem service that may not be available on Mars is the purification of drinking water provided by natural water bodies like rivers and lakes. The filtering and cleansing of pollutants by aquatic plants, microorganisms, and soil in a natural water system benefits both humans and other organisms that rely on it for survival.
Although some studies suggested the presence of water on Mars, the planet represents a hostile environment for human habitation. Scientists are currently researching ways to support potential human colonies on the Red Planet. Scientists have created closed ecosystem models that allow them to control factors such as moisture and temperature. In some of these closed ecosystems, plant growth experiments are being run using simulated Mars soil made of volcanic rocks from Earth.
Given this information, in three to five sentences, describe one (nonplant) organism that could contribute to an important ecosystem service for this system and describe one ecosystem service that you benefit from due to your local ecosystem that is probably not available on Mars.
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