Conclusion: Darkness (cardboard box) has dramatically different effects on the two spatial clusters. Cluster B (Western Block) shows a massive increase in mean electrical activity (+52.8%), while Cluster A (Northern Arc) shows only a minor decrease (-1.6%). This suggests state-dependent responses—the clusters were in different electrical states when the darkness stimulus was applied, leading to differential responses.
Direct comparison of key statistics between the two clusters showing the dramatic difference in darkness response.
| Cluster | ESPs | Uncovered Mean (mV) | Covered Mean (mV) | Post-Removal Mean (mV) | Covered vs Uncovered Change (%) | Post-Removal vs Uncovered Change (%) | Post-Removal vs Covered Change (%) | Uncovered Std (mV) | Covered Std (mV) | Post-Removal Std (mV) | Covered vs Uncovered p-value | Post-Removal vs Uncovered p-value | Post-Removal vs Covered p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cluster A | ESP17, ESP14, ESP08 | 10229.8 | 10068.1 | 10020.0 | -1.58 | -2.05 | -0.4781 | 363.5 | 270.4 | 410.1 | 0.000000 | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
| Cluster B | ESP05, ESP11, ESP13 | 8174.7 | 12493.0 | 11371.8 | 52.83 | 39.11 | -8.98 | 1526.1 | 1872.9 | 1461.6 | 0.000000 | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
Cluster A shows minimal response to darkness: small decrease in mean (-1.58%) but significant reduction in variability (-25.63%).
| Metric | Uncovered | Covered | Post-Removal | Covered vs Uncovered | Post-Removal vs Uncovered | Post-Removal vs Covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (mV) | 10229.8 | 10068.1 | 10020.0 | -161.7 | -209.8 | -48.14 |
| Std Dev (mV) | 363.5 | 270.4 | 410.1 | -93.18 | 46.56 | 139.7 |
| Median (mV) | 10144.7 | 10030.3 | 9889.3 | -114.4 | -255.4 | -141.0 |
| Q25 (mV) | 10004.9 | 9920.3 | 9758.3 | -84.51 | -246.6 | -162.1 |
| Q75 (mV) | 10381.0 | 10148.8 | 10129.8 | -232.1 | -251.2 | -19.06 |
| Min (mV) | 9695.4 | 9330.4 | 9420.6 | -365.1 | -274.8 | 90.28 |
| Max (mV) | 12773.3 | 12513.0 | 12302.8 | -260.3 | -470.5 | -210.2 |
| Range (mV) | 3077.8 | 3182.6 | 2882.1 | 104.8 | -195.7 | -300.5 |
| Coefficient of Variation | 0.0355 | 0.0269 | 0.0409 | -0.008700 | 0.005400 | 0.0141 |
| Skewness | 2.69 | 2.63 | 1.88 | -0.0674 | -0.8180 | -0.7506 |
| Kurtosis | 12.19 | 15.40 | 4.22 | 3.21 | -7.97 | -11.18 |
| Sample Count | 2610.0 | 1639.0 | 3016.0 | -971.0 | 406.0 | 1377.0 |
Cluster B shows dramatic response to darkness: massive increase in mean (+52.83%) and increase in variability (+22.73%).
| Metric | Uncovered | Covered | Post-Removal | Covered vs Uncovered | Post-Removal vs Uncovered | Post-Removal vs Covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (mV) | 8174.7 | 12493.0 | 11371.8 | 4318.3 | 3197.1 | -1121.3 |
| Std Dev (mV) | 1526.1 | 1872.9 | 1461.6 | 346.9 | -64.43 | -411.3 |
| Median (mV) | 7326.9 | 13232.6 | 10705.3 | 5905.6 | 3378.3 | -2527.3 |
| Q25 (mV) | 6816.0 | 10525.4 | 10433.8 | 3709.4 | 3617.7 | -91.62 |
| Q75 (mV) | 9985.4 | 14137.3 | 12470.8 | 4151.9 | 2485.4 | -1666.5 |
| Min (mV) | 5913.0 | 10078.0 | 9180.9 | 4165.0 | 3267.9 | -897.2 |
| Max (mV) | 10842.9 | 15535.6 | 15267.5 | 4692.7 | 4424.6 | -268.1 |
| Range (mV) | 4929.9 | 5457.6 | 6086.7 | 527.6 | 1156.7 | 629.1 |
| Coefficient of Variation | 0.1867 | 0.1499 | 0.1285 | -0.0368 | -0.0581 | -0.0214 |
| Skewness | 0.4215 | 0.0721 | 1.27 | -0.3494 | 0.8476 | 1.20 |
| Kurtosis | -1.56 | -1.65 | 0.1852 | -0.0935 | 1.74 | 1.84 |
| Sample Count | 2608.0 | 1641.0 | 3024.0 | -967.0 | 416.0 | 1383.0 |
Mann-Whitney U test results and effect sizes (Cohen's d) for both clusters. Both show highly significant differences (p < 0.0001).
| Cluster | Comparison | Mann-Whitney U | Mann-Whitney p-value | Effect Size (Cohen's d) | Mean Change (mV) | Mean Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cluster A (Northern Arc) | Covered vs Uncovered | 2833641.0 | 0.000000 | -0.5047 | -161.7 | -1.58 |
| Cluster A (Northern Arc) | Post-Removal vs Uncovered | 5746628.0 | 0.000000 | -0.5415 | -209.8 | -2.05 |
| Cluster A (Northern Arc) | Post-Removal vs Covered | 3127570.0 | 0.000000 | -0.1386 | -48.14 | -0.4782 |
| Cluster B (Western Block) | Covered vs Uncovered | 96169.0 | 0.000000 | 2.53 | 4318.3 | 52.83 |
| Cluster B (Western Block) | Post-Removal vs Uncovered | 337886.0 | 0.000000 | 2.14 | 3197.1 | 39.11 |
| Cluster B (Western Block) | Post-Removal vs Covered | 3246712.0 | 0.000000 | -0.6675 | -1121.3 | -8.98 |
The quantitative analysis reveals that darkness has state-dependent effects on fungal electrical activity:
State-Dependent Hypothesis: The differential response suggests that darkness, like other stimuli, produces responses that depend on the current electrical state of the mycelial network. Without explicit state definitions, we cannot determine the exact states, but the data strongly suggests Cluster A and Cluster B were in different states at the time of the darkness intervention.
Implications: This finding has important implications for future experiments: