Table 1.
Characteristics of fungal mycelial networks. (The spatial extent of the network was defined as the area of the convex hull of node spatial positions, minus the area of woodblocks. Area increased linearly with time t prior to the fungus reaching the edge of the dish. The number of nodes and links increased with area, the rate of increase declining with time. The total material cost of the network (Σla), increased with area. The material cost density declined with network size, with no difference between treatment (T) and control (C). Results are presented as mean±s.e.m. for three replicates.)
| 18 days | 25 days | 31 days | 39 days | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| area (cm2) | C | 229±18 | 372±17 | 484±11 | 505±3 |
| T | 215±30 | 345±40 | 436±36 | 505±1 | |
| nodes | C | 515±70 | 738±87 | 805±131 | 697±145 |
| T | 427±45 | 679±72 | 680±26 | 685±33 | |
| links | C | 644±127 | 946±159 | 1040±218 | 883±234 |
| T | 584±98 | 943±102 | 913±39 | 900±5 | |
| material cost (mm3) | C | 234±6 | 294±10 | 287±23 | 292±31 |
| T | 248±38 | 362±33 | 394±38 | 378±17 | |
| material cost density (mm3 cm−2) | C | 1.0±0.1 | 0.8±0.0 | 0.6±0.0 | 0.6±0.1 |
| T | 1.2±0.1 | 1.1±0.1 | 0.9±0.1 | 0.7±0.0 |