How similar are branching networks in nature?

Sánchez, J. A., Lasker, H. R., Zeng, W., Coluci, V. & Simpson, C. 2003 How similar are branching networks in nature? A view from the ocean: Caribbean gorgonian corals. Journal of Theoretical Biology 222, 135-138. pdf

Tree-like branching networks are omnipresent in nature (eg Turcotte et al., 1998). Despite the ubiquity of this pattern across both species and levels of organization, in most cases we do not know how branching patterns evolve or even how they form.

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