Dr. Anne Polyakov

Welcome! I am a Fungal Conservation and Restoration Scientist with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN). I received my PhD from the Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management Program at the University of Washington, an interdisciplinary program focused on the application of advanced statistical tools to address complex ecological systems. My doctoral research centered on quantifying the role of fungi in nutrient cycling within forest ecosystems using a combination of field work, genomics, stable isotope biogeochemistry, and modeling. At SPUN, I focus on developing an advanced understanding and modeling key features and threats to mycorrhizal biodiversity. Overall, my research involves using statistical analysis and ecological modeling to understand ecological processes, with an emphasis on biodiversity conservation, forest ecosystems, and the role of microbial functions in carbon and nitrogen cycling. Some of my recent projects include using machine learning to predict mycorrhizal fungal diversity and forest belowground productivity, network analysis to model the structure and function of mycorrhizal fungal networks, and mechanistic modeling to model the flow of salmon-derived nutrients through fungal-plant networks. I am especially interested in using state of the art modeling approaches to understand forest and fungal processes and contribute to research on fungal biodiversity and conservation. Some of my other work includes modeling population dynamics of small mammals, examining biodiversity conservation in the agricultural matrix, and quantifying collective behavior in Pacific salmon.