Deep Field / case

Choanoflagellate Colony

Choanoflagellates form facultative colonies—cells remain recognisable individuals while participating in a temporary multicellular arrangement. The specimen sits at the hinge between metastable closure and stratification: cooperation is real, yet the colony can dissolve without the irreversible enclosure that would install a new stratum. Use it to test whether a coordination crisis has forced enveloping governance, or whether the prior regime still absorbs the novelty.