Jan 9
Math/Stats Colloquium: Dr. Paula Mercurio, St. Olaf College
Title: A Network Science Approach to Fungal Networks and the "Wood Wide Web"
Abstract: As they grow, fungi naturally form underground networks from the growth of hyphae, fungal “roots” that divide and split off from each other, forming large interconnected networks over time. These networks serve a variety of functions, such as absorption and transport of nutrients, and can also interact with the roots of plants, creating the Wood Wide Web, an underground network connecting plants and trees. Network science and graph theory are useful for modeling relationships between interconnected or related items in many biological systems, particularly systems used for transportation or communication like these fungal networks. In this talk, I will discuss how we can use different tools from graph theory and network analysis techniques to investigate the relationships between plants and fungi.