Evolution of colonial life history in styelids tunicates involves changes in complexity patterns

Abstract

Biological complexity is defined as the number of modules that compose an organism or a biological system, the type of interactions between these modules, and new hierarchies that describe these interactions. These patterns in biological complexity are changing during the evolution of life-histories, such as the evolution of coloniality in animals. In relation to coloniality, it is possible to observe an increment in all the aspects defined in the concept of biological complexity. First, in colonial animals, there is an increment in the modules that compound the system (i.e. zooids) compared with a solitary organism in which the multicellular individual a unity. Consequently, this transformation of the multicellular individual, in a component of the modular architecture in colonies, involves an increase in the regulatory processes of colonial system. This is precisely the case of the colonial life history evolution from solitary ancestors in the Styelids tunicates. Therefore, the main question of this study is How is the regulation of the asexual developmental processes that occurred simultaneously in the modules of the colonies? This question was studied, by the research of colonial strategy in the styelid Symplegma. Using in vivo observations of the budding process, description and classification of the extra-corporeal blood vessels system and the blood cells, by cytohistological assays. The conclusion is that the regulation of the simultaneous developmental processes that occurred in Symplegma colonies is mediated by the system of extra-corporeal blood vessels, which maintain physically the cohesion of the individuals, the plasma, and migratory blood cells transport signals between the individuals of the colonies.