generally thought that fusion, whether it occurs between clonemates or non- 

 clonemates, results in the formation of a larger colony with higher survivorship 

 and/or fecundity (Hughes and Jackson, in review). It also results in a level 

 of physiological continuity which even aggregating solitary organisms cannot 

 mimic. Variation in colonial integrity and the adaptive significance of 

 fragmentation and fusion among colonial species would appear, then, to be an 

 interesting new direction for future exploration. 



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