Discover the First-Ever Wild ‘Superorganism’ Formed by Tiny Worms – A Fascinating Nature Phenomenon!

Nematodes, tiny worms, have recently been seen forming strange towers in the wild for the first time. This discovery comes from a study published in the journal Current Biology.

Previously, these worm formations were only seen in lab settings. Researchers thought it was a competitive move to get away from the crowd. But new videos from orchards in Konstanz, Germany, suggest there’s more to it—it looks like these towers help the worms travel together.

The team, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz, captured images of these towers on fallen fruit. Follow-up experiments confirmed that this behavior is natural. When forming towers, the worms create a structure that aids their movement.

Senior author Serena Ding expressed her excitement upon seeing the towers in the wild. She explained how, after imagining what they might look like, their curiosity led them to discover these formations in real life.

Interestingly, not all nematodes join in building these towers. The researchers noted that only one species, in a specific larval stage called “dauer,” participated. This suggests that the behavior might have a deeper purpose rather than just being random.

Daniela Perez, a postdoctoral researcher, pointed out that these towers represent more than just a pile of worms; they are coordinated structures acting as a "superorganism." Such behavior is rare and has also been reported in organisms like slime molds and fire ants.

To see if other types of worms could create similar structures, the researchers set up an experiment using Caenorhabditis elegans, a well-studied roundworm. They placed the worms on a food-free agar plate with a toothbrush bristle as a guide. In just two hours, the worms formed a tower around the bristle. They even responded to gentle taps, showing they actively sensed their environment.

The researchers also looked into whether there was any sort of hierarchy among the worms in terms of who contributed to building the tower. Interestingly, the C. elegans showed no signs of a pecking order; worms of different ages and sizes worked together equally.

This research sheds light on how animals move in groups. Ding highlights that these findings could open new avenues for understanding collective behavior in various species.

If you’re curious about the history of collective movement in animals, consider that past examples include migrating birds and schooling fish, showing how creatures work together to survive and thrive. This new insight into nematodes adds another layer to our understanding of cooperation in the animal kingdom.

For more in-depth reading on collective behavior in nature, you can visit the Max Planck Institute for further studies.

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