September 2024

Here in particular I need to master the usage of Extracts.

Filler text for testing purposes.

This April, trillions of periodical cicadas began their descent on the midwest and southeast of the United States, causing so much noise that local residents called the police to complain. But the cicadas don’t just disrupt neighbourhoods with a deafening soundtrack, they also throw food chains into chaos.

After spending more than a decade burrowed underground sipping on tree root juices, two broods – Brood XIII and Brood XIX – are emerging at the same time in 2024: the first time they have done so simultaneously since 1803.

Such emergence of the insects en masse will disrupt ecological food systems, says Grace Soltis, a PhD student studying evolutionary biology at Florida State University.

“Cicada emergences can completely rewire a food web,” says Soltis, who co-authored a paper studying the cascading impacts of bird predation on cicadas during the 2021 Brood X emergence. “For predators, these emergences are a huge boom in resources. It’s basically like an all-you-can-eat buffet for the hungry predator.”

The emergence would not directly impact the human food system, Soltis adds, but unusually high levels of cicadas aren’t good news for all. So scientists are capitalising on 2024’s dual emergence to find out more about the insects’ ripple effect on other species, both in the animal kingdom and in plants.

After spending more than a decade burrowed underground sipping on tree root juices, two broods – Brood XIII and Brood XIX – are emerging at the same time in 2024: the first time they have done so simultaneously since 1803.

Such emergence of the insects en masse will disrupt ecological food systems, says Grace Soltis, a PhD student studying evolutionary biology at Florida State University.

“Cicada emergences can completely rewire a food web,” says Soltis, who co-authored a paper studying the cascading impacts of bird predation on cicadas during the 2021 Brood X emergence. “For predators, these emergences are a huge boom in resources. It’s basically like an all-you-can-eat buffet for the hungry predator.”

The emergence would not directly impact the human food system, Soltis adds, but unusually high levels of cicadas aren’t good news for all. So scientists are capitalising on 2024’s dual emergence to find out more about the insects’ ripple effect on other species, both in the animal kingdom and in plants.