Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Role Of Machine Learning And Network Analyses In Understanding Microbial Composition In An Experimental Prairie, Ali Eastman Oku

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Machine learning and network analyses are powerful modern tools can process and map out connections between large amount of ecological data from complex environmental communities. Random forests, an ensemble machine learning algorithm, are particularly powerful as they can capture complex patterns in data while remaining easily interpretable. These tools are specifically useful in experimental settings where different types of data are collected. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the utility of machine learning models and network analyses at analyzing diverse ecological data from dynamic plant-soil microbial communities in a prairie ecosystem. Our experimental system is an experimental prairie …