A plant biologist from the University of Georgia, Athens has been announced as the winner of the 7th annual "Dance Your Ph.D." contest.

A plant biologist from the University of Georgia, Athens has been announced as the winner of the 7th annual "Dance Your Ph.D." contest .

Uma Nagendra, who is an aerialist as well as Ph.D. candidate, used her trapeze skills to explain her study of how tornados affect forest ecology. She beat dances about nuclear fusion and the chemistry of mayonnaise for the grand prize.

Uma Nagendra / Via youtube.com

Maybe unexpectedly, it turns out that tornadoes can actually be helpful for a forest's tree seedlings – because they help protect them from parasitic fungi – but potentially bad for the diversity of the forest's ecosystem.

Maybe unexpectedly, it turns out that tornadoes can actually be helpful for a forest's tree seedlings – because they help protect them from parasitic fungi – but potentially bad for the diversity of the forest's ecosystem.

The adult trees (white pine trees, in this case) have a very specific set of parasitical fungi that live in their roots, which can damage or kill tree seedlings.

Uma Nagendra / Via youtube.com

These fungal infections are more likely to harm seedlings growing close to their parent tree, as this spooky dance shows.

This means that the species of pine will end up being spaced far apart in the forest, which lets other species flourish in the gaps. This makes for a more biologically diverse forest.

Uma Nagendra / Via youtube.com