Applied mathematics
Cicadas around the world hatch in cycles of 7, 13 and 17 years. These are all prime numbers.
Apparently prime number schedules make it less likely they’ll coincide with a peak predator population.
For example, if a type of cicada-hunting bird boomed every six years, a 17-year cicada brood would coincide with the peak predator year just once every 102 years.
If the cicadas emerged every 12 years instead, they’d be vulnerable to predators that peak every 12, six, four, three and two years.
What came first, the maths or evolution?
Sounds like bullshit to me. Wouldn’t the birds just adapt to the 7, 13 and 17 year cycle and have a 100% overlap?
It just proves that biologists aren’t real scientists. They get all mystical about prime numbers for example.
offshore westerly 