Post #10
PARASITISM ON MARS
Donald A. Windsor
Parasitism
is a property of life on Earth, because most of our species are
parasites (1). However, what about life on other worlds? We are on
the verge of discovering life on Mars. Will Martian life have
parasites?
If
parasitism is a universal property of life, then it should occur in
Martian life.
If
Martian life does not have any parasites, then parasitism is unique
to Earth. It would have to be decided on how many potential host
species would have to be examined before it could reasonably
concluded that no parasites occur.
Meanwhile,
we should avoid contaminating the Martian biosphere, in case it has
one.
1. Windsor, Donald A. Most of the species on Earth are parasites.
International Journal for Parasitology 1998 December; 28(12): 1939-1941.
