Protistology 3 (1) 58–68 (2003) The ethology of Protozoa and the "adaptive space" hypothesis: a heuristic approach to the biology of
these eukaryotic, unicellular organisms
Rosalba Banchetti and Fabrizio Erra
Department of Etology, Ecology and Evolution, University of Pisa, Italy
Summary
The analysis of the behaviour of the ciliated protozoa led us to explore different fields
of their adaptive biology. The neuro-ethological and the eco-ethological studies in our
Lab are shortly considered in their aspects of uniqueness (due to the biological
peculiarities of protozoa) to support the proposal of a new hypothesis: the "adaptive
space" of the protozoa we studied, a unique space defined by their cellular, organismic
and environmental parameters. The heuristic value of this hypothesis is then
experimentally tested with the study of the case of the double organisms of Oxytricha
bifaria, which represent an allomorphic living state of the species. The possible adaptive
significance of this allomorphic state is discussed. Key words: behaviour, ciliates, adaptive biology
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