Colonial animals live in large groups in close proximity to one other. Colonies might exist only at specific times of the year such as the nesting season for many seabirds. Others, such as a beehive or a den of meerkats, contain a single social unit,and often last for longer than the lifetime of an individual member.
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Walrus beach
The annual walrus gathering on Wrangel Island.
The annual walrus gathering on Wrangel Island.
Coral turf wars
Coral reefs are so cramped that different corals constantly fight one another for space.
Coral reefs are so cramped that different corals constantly fight one another for space.
Reef teamwork
Corals are a fascinating relationship between animals and plants.
Corals are a fascinating relationship between animals and plants.
Birds of a feather
Dickcissels form huge flocks and feed on Venezuelan grain.
Dickcissels form huge flocks and feed on Venezuelan grain.
Alone in a crowd
A king penguin knows its chick's voice among the masses.
A king penguin knows its chick's voice among the masses.
Brown long-eared bat
Common vampire bat
Daubenton's bat
Horseshoe bats
Lesser horseshoe bat
Little bent-wing bat
Mexican free-tailed bat
Noctule bat
Serotine bat
Soprano pipistrelle
Straw-coloured fruit bat
Brown fur seal
Galápagos fur seal
Grey seal
Meerkat
Southern sea lion
Steller sea lion
Walrus
American bison
Blue wildebeest
Nubian ibex
Thomson's gazelle
Hamadryas baboon
Human
Arctic ground squirrel
Black-tailed prairie dog
Capybara
Gunnison's prairie dog
Himalayan marmot
Naked mole rat
Star-nosed mole
Greater flamingo
Lesser flamingo
Adelie penguin
Gentoo penguin
Humboldt penguin
King penguin
Macaroni penguin
Magellanic penguin
Snares crested penguin
Barnacle goose
Brent goose
Snow goose
Eleonora's falcon
Hen harrier
Merlin
Osprey
Common crane
Red-legged partridge
Pied kingfisher
Southern carmine bee-eater
White-fronted bee-eater
Long-eared owl
Little corella
Cape gannet
Gannets
Northern gannet
Socotra cormorant
Bearded tit
Coal tit
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
House sparrow
Red-billed chough
Red-billed quelea
Sand martin
Starling
Swallow
Arctic tern
Common ringed plover
Great black-backed gull
Guillemot
Guillemots
Herring gull
Kittiwake
Knot
Lapwing
Lesser black-backed gull
Oystercatcher
Plovers and lapwings
Puffin
Ringed plovers
Thick-billed guillemot
Grey heron
Little egret
Wood stork
Common swift
Black-browed albatross
Fulmar
Galápagos petrel
Manx shearwater
Short-tailed shearwater
Snow petrel
Storm petrel
Atlantic salmon and trout
Herring and sardine family
Herrings and anchovies
Peruvian anchoveta
Atlantic sailfish
Army ant
Bumblebees
Common wasp
Hairy wood ant
Hornet
Wood ants
Gatekeeper butterfly
Marbled white
Marsh fritillary
Desert locustIn biology, a colony refers to individual organisms of the same species living closely together, usually for mutual benefit, such as stronger defense or the ability to attack bigger prey. Some insects (ants and honey bees, for example) live only in colonies. The Portuguese man o' war is an example of a colony of four different polyp forms.
A colony of single-cell organisms is known as a colonial organism. Colonial organisms were probably the first step toward multicellular organisms via natural selection.[citation needed] The difference between a multicellular organism and a colonial organism is that individual organisms from a colony can, if separated, survive on their own, while cells from a multicellular lifeform (e.g., cells from a brain) cannot. Volvox (technically a coenobium) is an example of the border between these two states.
A bacterial colony is defined as a visible cluster of bacteria growing on the surface of or within a solid medium, presumably cultured from a single cell. Because all organisms within the colony descend from a single ancestor, they are genetically identical (except for mutations that occur at a low, unavoidable frequency, as well as the more likely possibility of contamination). Obtaining such genetically identical organisms (or pure strains) can be useful in many cases; this is done by spreading bacteria on a culture plate and starting a new stock of bacteria from a single colony.
A biofilm is a colony of microorganisms often comprising several species, with properties and capabilities greater than the aggregate of capabilities of the individual organisms.
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Other Social behaviour behaviours
Habitats where this adaptation is useful
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Attenborough's frozen planet
Frozen Planet is Sir David Attenborough's latest exploration into the remote and isolated polar environments.
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