Data from: Avian predation pressure as a potential driver of periodical cicada cycle length

The extraordinarily long life cycles, synchronous emergences at 13- or
17-year intervals, and complex geographic distribution of periodical
cicadas (Magicicada spp.) in eastern North America are an evolutionary
enigma. Although a variety of factors, including satiation of above-ground
predators and avoidance of interbrood hybridization, have been
hypothesized to shape the evolution of this system, no empirical support
for these mechanisms has previously been reported beyond the observation
that bird predation can extirpate small, experimentally mistimed
emergences. Here we show that periodical cicada emergences appear to set
populations of potential avian predators on numerical trajectories that
result in significantly lower potential predation pressure during the
subsequent emergence. This result provides new support for the importance
of predators in shaping periodical cicada life history, offers an
ecological rationale for why emergences are synchronized at the observed
multi-year intervals, and may explain some of the developmental plasticity
observed in these unique insects.

北美东部的周期蝉（Magicicada spp.）拥有超长生命周期、每13或17年同步出土的特性，以及复杂的地理分布格局，该现象长期以来都是演化生物学领域的一道未解之谜。尽管学界已提出多种假说以解释该类群的演化机制，其中包括地面捕食者的捕食饱和效应以及避免不同出土群间的杂交，但此前除“鸟类捕食可消灭实验性错峰出土的小型种群”这一观测结果外，尚无这些假说的实证支撑。本研究发现，周期蝉的出土事件会驱动潜在鸟类捕食者的种群数量沿特定轨迹变动，从而在后续的出土季显著降低潜在捕食压力。这一发现为“捕食者在塑造周期蝉生活史中的关键作用”提供了新的实证支持，为出土事件为何同步于观测到的多年间隔提供了生态学理论依据，同时或可阐释这类独特昆虫所观察到的部分发育可塑性。