Colonies Self-assemble

Biological Strategy

Bacteria

AskNature Team

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Coordinate by Self-Organization

To create and maintain a healthy community of individuals and ecosystems requires that living systems coordinate their activities. Coordination doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a leader orchestrating what happens. In nature, coordination is usually achieved through self-organization. In a flock of geese flying in a V-formation, for example, there’s no lead goose controlling where all of the others fly. The flock uses this formation because each goose gains energy from air vortices created by the goose in front of it. The lead goose doesn’t gain that benefit, so when it tires, it moves back and another goose takes the front position.

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Bacteria

Domain Bacteria (“small staff”): L. acidophilus, Staphylococcus

From inside of our own bodies to the deepest parts of the ocean, bacteria have adapted to almost every possible environment. All bacteria are unicellular, microscopic, and lack a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles, and come in three basic shapes: spherical (cocci), rod (bacilli), and spiral (spirilla). Some strains can be deadly, like Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) while others, like Lactobacillus acidophilus, found in our intestinal microbiome, keep us healthy. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue green algae, caused the Great Oxidation Event 2.4 billion years ago, producing Earth’s first oxygenated atmosphere.

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Bacterial colonies that form stromatolites self-assemble by making independent decisions while maintaining communication.

Image: C Eeckhout / Wikimedia commons /

Stromatolites growing in Yalgorup national park in Australia (there are also other stromatolithes in Shark Bay and in Western Australia). Stromatolites are attached, lithified sedimentary growth structures, accretionary away from a point or limited surface of initiation.

Image: C Eeckhout / Wikimedia commons /

Image: Happy Little Nomad / Wikimedia commons /

Hamelin Pool, on the way to Monkey Mia. Theyre responsible for a lot of the Earths oxygen and the evolution of oxygen breathing lifeforms ie, us.

“Stromatolites are colonies of bacteria that self-assemble into rock formations in tidal salt flats. Each stromatolite can make independent decisions, while maintaining communication with the colony. The workload is shared among all colony individuals. Stromatolites breed rapidly, and quickly develop resistance to antibiotics and other threats by developing new genes. Ian Marshall plans to incorporate these principles into the next wave of BT network management. Like the stromatolites, each element of BT’s [British Telecom] network will be able to make independent decisions, yet will remain fully communicative with neighbors. Workload–i.e., incoming calls–will be spread evenly through the network. And in a process mimicking natural selection, desirable services will be quickly distributed to BT customers, while undesirable services die out.” (Courtesy of the Biomimicry Guild)