Worms reproduce by fragmentation.
The act and result of fragmenting is called fragmentation : causing something to be divided into fragments (parts, pieces). Depending on the context, the notion has different uses.
Fragmentation may be an asexual division mechanism . In this case, an individual is divided into different parts, each with the capacity to develop the reconstruction of a complete organism. Said reconstruction can develop before or after excision .
Types of fragmentation as a reproduction method
When the reconstruction takes place before fragmentation, it is called paratomy . Certain worms reproduce in this way. On the other hand, if the reconstruction is carried out after fragmentation, the process is known as architomy , just as earthworms and starfish can reproduce.
Reproduction by fragmentation also appears in plants . If a person decides to propagate a plant using cuttings or layering , what they do is fragment it (taking branches or portions of them) to produce new roots and obtain other individuals.
The division of a habitat
In the field of ecology , the idea of habitat fragmentation refers to the emergence of discontinuities in areas that previously had continuous vegetation. With fragmentation, the habitat becomes a set of fragments that appear isolated from each other and disconnected.
The fragmentation of habitats, which can be generated by natural mechanisms (such as the action of the wind) or by human intervention, threatens biodiversity , since the original flow of energy and matter is modified.
A fragmentation bomb opens to release smaller bombs.
fragmentation bomb
A directed or free-fall bomb that can be launched from air, sea or land is known as a fragmentation , cluster or cluster bomb. The characteristic of this bomb that gave it its name is that when it opens it releases many other, but smaller, ones, which can be used for various purposes: causing harm or death to a large number of people indiscriminately; setting fires; pass through armored vehicles.
The origin of the fragmentation bomb has not been completely defined: while some researchers claim that it was created in Nazi Germany, others point to a Chilean businessman named Carlos Cardoen , who manufactured a type of fragmentation bomb during the 1970s. The truth is that its presence in the field of cinema and video games is very broad, given that it is ideal for causing spectacular explosions ; Unfortunately, its almost "humorous" representation in the world of entertainment has little to do with the consequences of its use in reality.
The notion in computing
In the field of computing , finally, fragmentation is called the generation of blank spaces that cannot be used on the disk. This occurs when files are stored in chunks that are not contiguous. Fragmentation makes access to these files inefficient.
As a counterpart to fragmentation, defragmentation was created, a process that aims to arrange files within storage memory so that all their parts are contiguous and their use is more efficient. Fragmentation occurs "naturally", through the daily use of files: with the continuous writing and deletion of files on the hard drive, it is normal that their fragments are not stored together and this slows down access to them .
It is important to note that solid state drives (known simply by their acronym SSD ) work in a very different way from hard drives , and do not cause file fragmentation. In fact, if we run a defragmentation tool on an SSD we put its longevity at risk, since its technology allows a much lower number of reads and writes than traditional disks.