Dr. M. Eric Benbow, Michigan State University
When you've been in the woods and found decaying tree trunks, mushrooms growing on dead organic matter, or perhaps even a decomposing carcass, did you ever wonder how this fits into our ecosystems? And what is happening in what is unseen by us to nourish the landscape? Join us on the next UPEC livestream to hear from Dr. Eric Benbow, a leader in studying the necrobiome: a complex system where the role of decomposition and decay has an impact on animals, birds, invertebrates, fungi, and microorganisms. Dr. Benbow focuses on applied ecology of insect–microbial interactions within three systems: carrion decomposition (and forensics), aquatic ecological networks, and disease systems. Together, they make up the necrobiome: the world of death which leads to new life.
For viewers who wish further information on the necrobiome, here is the original biography Dr. Benbow sent with a fuller explanation of his work and a selected bibliography.