Foraging strategies of fungal mycelial networks: responses to quantity and distance of new resources.

ABSTRACT: Fungal mycelial networks are essential for translocating and storing water, nutrients, and carbon in forest ecosystems. In particular, wood decay fungi form mycelial networks that connect various woody debris on the forest floor. Understanding their foraging strategies is crucial for complehending the role of mycelium in carbon and nutrient cycling in forests. Previous studies have shown that mycelial networks initiate migration from the original woody resource (inoculum) to a new woody resource (bait) if the latter is sufficiently large but not if it is small. However, the impact of energetic costs during foraging, such as the distance to the bait, has not been considered. In the present study, we conducted full-factorial experiments with two factors, bait size (4 and 8 cm³) an

SUBMITTER: Fukasawa Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10483288 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature