Predator satiation is quite a rare type of defense mechanisms only utilized by a few species, including but not limited to wildebeest, caribou, many plants, and the periodical cicada. Instead of hiding themselves or utilizing camouflage, these species deliberately over reproduce sporadically.

The purpose behind this mechanisms to provide the predator with a superfluous supply of themselves so the predator would be unable to decimate all of them.

Plants often utilize this mechanism through “Mast Seeding”, whereby a species propagates an extremely large amount of seeds every two or more years in regional synchrony with other same-species plants. Since the seed predators are satiated before they can consume all the seeds of the various species, this mechanism enables the regional seed species to benefit off from each other.

Fortunately, instead of mass producing annually, these species produce between large intervals of time or in irregular cycles to prevent the predators from adapting to a routine-like cycle. For instance, some bamboo species grow for more than 100 years before propagation, then all of the bamboo plants in that specific region will produce their seeds simultaneously. Another instance is the Magicicada cicada species, which 3 of the species live underground for 17 years, and the other 3 species living underground for 13 years before emerging and reproducing.

Citations:

Bogdziewicz, M., Espelta, J. M., Muñoz, A., Aparicio, J. M., & Bonal, R. (2018). Effectiveness of predator satiation in masting oaks is negatively affected by conspecific density. Oecologia, 186(4), 983–993. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4069-7

Mast seeding | biology | Britannica. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/mast-seeding

Periodical Cicada Survival – Science NetLinks. (n.d.). Sciencenetlinks.com. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from http://sciencenetlinks.com/esheets/periodical-cicada-survival/‌

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Personal Opinion:

I actually learned this topic while studying for the SAT. It featured in one of the Natural Science passages of an SAT practice test, and it really caught my attention. I was so fascinated how some organisms managed to survive and defeat predators through inundating them. Usually when one wants to evade a predator, they usually try to deceive it through camouflage or hide themselves underground.

– Joanna Kim, August 10th, 2021, 4:57 PM KST –