Colonial Bubblgea
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The colonial bubblgea split from its ancestor, returning north. But while from its ancestor it was merely a split, this species rapidly outcompeted all other descendants of the Bubble Droopgea in its range. There were multiple factors that allowed this to occur.
First and most importantly, the colonial bubblgea has gained sexual reproduction. Through a mutation, it evolved to produce external, largely unformed buds on its roots, which contain half of their parent's genetic material. These detach themselves during development when they consist of only a few cells and fuse with those of other colonial bubblgeas they encounter suspended in the water, producing offspring with the complete genomes of both. No longer attaching to the seabed, they instead become buoyant very quickly and float throughout their life. Early in its evolution, before it evolved meiosis, their sexual buds contained their parents' full genetic material; as a result, the colonial bubblgea's genome grew over 100 times its previous size, giving it a lot more genetic material to work with to evolve further. This also automatically made it inherently healthier and better at evolving than any other species.
Second, the colonial bubblgea no longer dies to produce young asexually. Instead, the buds produced in its leaves grow to adult size while still attached to their parent. In fact, they never detach at all except when broken off by waves or predators. This has caused the colonial bubblgea to be able to reproduce rapidly and cover the sea, physically crowding out other species in the process. Asexual budding occurs from its leaves, and the connecting stem leads from the parent's leaf to the underside of the offspring's bubble.
Third, the colonial bubblgea has formed a symbiosis with a species of Swarmerkings. This species, Colonimanxerxia polybullaphyta, is shade-tolerant and clings to the colonial bubblgea's submerged parts, providing excess ammonium through its waste in exchange for shelter from predators and something to cling to. This allows the colonial bubblgea to grow considerably faster than any other species, reaching full size in just 1 week under optimal conditions.
No Droopgea commensals or predators were harmed by this rapid change. The colonial bubblgea provides considerable amounts of shelter for small fauna such as common Gilltails, Squidwhals, Krillpedes, and Miniswarmers to hide from predators on the open sea. It also provides transport for small terrestrial fauna, aiding in keeping global genus groups global. In fact, the colonial bubblgea has facilitated the spread of the gamergate gundis genus group to Hydro-Barlowe through a rafting event.
Large mats of colonial bubblgea, due to their dark coloration absorbing so much sunlight, create thermals directly over them. These thermals usually generate a cloud. The thermals provide lift to various flying organisms, and the clouds provide extra habitat to sky organisms. The colonial bubblgea does not overheat in warm weather, as the thermal it generates is literally made of excess heat which is drawn up and away from it by the laws of physics. Because of this, it is not harmed by retaining a very dark coloration.