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Colony (biology)

 
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Colony (biology)
 
 
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In biology
Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
, a colony (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 colonia) refers to several individual organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
s of the same species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 living closely together, usually for mutual benefit, such as stronger defences or the ability to attack bigger prey. Some insects (ant
Ant

Ants are Eusociality insects of the family Formicidae, and along with the related wasps and bees, they belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolution from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and Evolutionary radiation after the rise of flowering plants....
s and honey bee
Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of wiktionary:perennial, Colony nests out of beeswax....
s, for example) live only in colonies. The Portuguese Man o' War
Portuguese Man o' War

The Portuguese Man o' War , also known as the blue bubble, blue bottle, man-of-war, or the Portuguese man of war, is a jelly-like, marine invertebrate of the family: Physaliidae, order: Siphonophora, class: Hydrozoa, and Phylum: Cnidaria....
 is an example of a colony of four different polyp
Polyp

In zoology, a polyp is one of two forms of individuals found in many species of cnidarians. The two are the polyp or hydroid and the medusa . Polyps are approximately cylindrical, elongated on the axis of the body....
 forms.

A colony of single-celled organisms is known as a colonial organism.






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In biology
Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
, a colony (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 colonia) refers to several individual organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
s of the same species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 living closely together, usually for mutual benefit, such as stronger defences or the ability to attack bigger prey. Some insects (ant
Ant

Ants are Eusociality insects of the family Formicidae, and along with the related wasps and bees, they belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolution from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and Evolutionary radiation after the rise of flowering plants....
s and honey bee
Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of wiktionary:perennial, Colony nests out of beeswax....
s, for example) live only in colonies. The Portuguese Man o' War
Portuguese Man o' War

The Portuguese Man o' War , also known as the blue bubble, blue bottle, man-of-war, or the Portuguese man of war, is a jelly-like, marine invertebrate of the family: Physaliidae, order: Siphonophora, class: Hydrozoa, and Phylum: Cnidaria....
 is an example of a colony of four different polyp
Polyp

In zoology, a polyp is one of two forms of individuals found in many species of cnidarians. The two are the polyp or hydroid and the medusa . Polyps are approximately cylindrical, elongated on the axis of the body....
 forms.

Quintote Colony Counter
A colony of single-celled organisms is known as a colonial organism. Colonial organisms were probably the first step towards multicellular organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
s via natural selection
Natural selection

Natural selection is the process by which favorable heritable trait become more common in successive generations of a population of Reproduction organisms, and unfavorable heritable traits become less common, due to differential reproduction of genotypes....
. The difference between a multicellular organism
Multicellular organism

Multicellular organisms are organisms consisting of more than one cell , and having differentiated cells that perform specialized functions in the cell....
 and a colonial organism is that individual organisms from a colony can, if separated, survive on their own, while cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
s from a multicellular lifeform (e.g., cells from a brain
Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
) cannot. Volvox
Volvox

Volvox is one of the best-known chlorophytes and is the most developed in a series of genera that form spherical colonies. Each mature Volvox colony is composed of numerous flagellate cells similar to Chlamydomonas, up to 50,000 in total, and embedded in the surface of a hollow sphere or coenobium containing an extracellular matr...
 (technically a coenebium) is an example for the border between these two states.

A bacterial colony (or colony of other microorganism
Microorganism

A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is microscopic . The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began with Anton van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of microorganisms in 1675, using a microscope of his own design....
s) is defined as a cluster of organisms growing on the surface of or within a solid medium, usually cultured from a single cell. Because all organisms within the colony descend from a single ancestor, they are genetically identical (except for mutation
Mutation

In biology, mutations are changes to the nucleotide sequence of the genetic material of an organism. Mutations can be caused by copying errors in the genetic material during cell division, by exposure to ultraviolet or ionizing radiation, chemical mutagens, or virus , or can be induced by the organism, itself, by cellular processes such as s...
s which occur at a low, unavoidable frequency), thus this technique can be used to isolate genetically pure strain
Strain

Strain can refer to:* Strain , a variant of a plant, virus or bacterium; or an inbred animal used for experimental purposes* Strain , a chemical stress of a molecule...
s from a genetically mixed population.

See also


  • Colonisation (biology)
    Colonisation (biology)

    Colonisation is the process in biology by which a species spreads into new areas. The term can be used to describe colonisation on a small scale or on a large scale ....
  • Clonal colony
    Clonal colony

    A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetative reproduction from a single ancestor....
  • Eusociality
    Eusociality

    Eusociality is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification. The term "eusocial" was introduced in 1966 by Suzanne Batra and given a more definitive meaning by E....
  • Seabird colony
  • Superorganism
    Superorganism

    A superorganism is an organism consisting of many organisms. This is usually meant to be a social unit of eusociality animals, where division of labour is highly specialised and where individuals are not able to survive by themselves for extended periods of time....
  • Beehive (beekeeping)
    Beehive (beekeeping)

    A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the genus Apis live and raise their young. Natural beehives are naturally-occurring structures occupied by honey bee colonies, while domesticated honey bees live in man-made beehives, often in an apiary....


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