alt Hacker NewsIt raises the question: can a colony of individual animals (zooids in this case) that work cooperatively be called a singular animal itself? I think biologists say yes, but it’s an interesting taxonomic boundary.
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eru • today at 1:56 PM
We think cows are singular animals, despite being made up of lots of different organisms with different DNA. (Much of the diversity happening in the gut.)
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Scarblac • today at 2:48 PM
I think the bacteria in your gut outnumber the human cells in your body.
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AFAIK, a "super-organism" composed of individual entities is defined as one where the long-term fitness interests of those individuals and their groups are completely and permanently aligned.
For example an ant colony is a super-organism. That’s why it makes sense for a soldier ant to die for her queen.