title: Mushrooms use convectively created airflows to disperse their spores.
abstract: Thousands of basidiomycete fungal species rely on mushroom spores to spread across landscapes. It has long been thought that spores depend on favorable winds for dispersal--that active control of spore dispersal by the parent fungus is limited to an impulse delivered to the spores to carry them clear of the gill surface. Here we show that evaporative cooling of the air surrounding the pileus creates convective airflows capable of carrying spores at speeds of centimeters per second. Convective cells can transport spores from gaps that may be only 1 cm high and lift spores 10 cm or more into the air. This work reveals how mushrooms tolerate and even benefit from crowding and explains their high water needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201;
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dressaire
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106;
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
authors.forename: Boya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 mroper@math.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roper
mesh_terms: D000388:Air; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism; D014919:Wind
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: basidiomycete; evaporation; fungi; gravity current; spore dispersal