Department of Geology, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina 28608.
Integr Comp Biol. 2003 Feb;43(1):87-98. doi: 10.1093/icb/43.1.87.
Growth in colonial organisms by iteration of modules inherently provides for an increase in available morpho-ecospace relative to their solitary relatives. Therefore, the interpretation of the functional or evolutionary significance of complexity within groups that exhibit modular growth may need to be considered under criteria modified from those used to interpret complexity in solitary organisms. Primary modules, corresponding to individuals, are the fundamental building blocks of a colonial organism. Groups of primary modules commonly form a second-order modular unit, such as a branch, which may then be iterated to form a more complex colony. Aspects of overall colony form, along with their implications for ecology and evolution, are reflected in second-order modular (structural) units to a far greater degree than by primary modular units (zooids). A colony generated by modular growth can be classified by identifying its second-order modular (structural) unit and then by characterizing the nature and relationships of these iterated units within the colony. This approach to classifying modular growth habits provides a standardized terminology and allows for direct comparison of a suite of functionally analogous character states among taxa with specific parameters of their ecology.
通过模块的迭代，殖民地生物的生长从本质上提供了相对于其独居亲属更多的可用形态生态空间。因此，对于表现出模块化生长的群体中复杂性的功能或进化意义的解释，可能需要根据用于解释独居生物复杂性的标准进行修改。作为一个殖民地生物的基本组成部分，对应于个体的主要模块是其基本构建块。通常，一组主要模块形成一个二级模块单元，例如一个分支，然后可以对其进行迭代，以形成更复杂的殖民地。整体殖民地形态的各个方面，以及它们对生态学和进化的影响，在二级模块（结构）单元中得到了比主要模块单元（个体）更大程度的反映。通过识别其二级模块（结构）单元，然后通过描述这些在殖民地中迭代的单元的性质和关系，可以对通过模块化生长生成的殖民地进行分类。这种分类模块化生长习性的方法提供了标准化的术语，并允许在特定生态参数的类群中对一系列功能类似的特征状态进行直接比较。
