Colony integration is the term used to define the degres of functional interdependence between ramets (e.g., zooids, polyps) within a colony. Work in many different systems has revealed repeated patterns of colony integration within and between taxa and found repeated correlations between patterns of integration and patterns of clonal organism life history traits. Despite the success of this correlative approach, virtually all work on colony integration has been based on morphological inference, with little attempt to directly observe, measure, or experimentally perturb the vascular systems of colonial invertebrates. This work will initiate a research program designed to place studies of colony integration on a firm functional foundation based on detailed analysis of the anatomy and behavior of the vascular system of a clonal invertebrate.
