The notion of animals' local choice brought from an exterior of mechanical framework

Abstract

We studied chemotactical behavior of an amoeboid multinuclear cell, Physarum polycephalum plasmodium. We experimentally observed that the small parts within a single organism showed different reactions under rather complex situations, unless the organism has no differentiation, and some adaptable behaviors of the individual have resulted from a temporary inadequate reaction of such a local part. We then propose an idea of animal local choice as a negation of a mechanical framework which assumes definitely decided one-to-one relations between an environmental stimulus and a reaction of an animal.