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Science 26 November 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5701, pp. 1565 - 1567
DOI: 10.1126/science.1103114
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Reports

Periodical Cicadas as Resource Pulses in North American Forests

Louie H. Yang

Resource pulses are occasional events of ephemeral resource superabundance that occur in many ecosystems. Aboveground consumers in diverse communities often respond strongly to resource pulses, but few studies have investigated the belowground consequences of resource pulses in natural ecosystems. This study shows that resource pulses of 17-year periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) directly increase microbial biomass and nitrogen availability in forest soils, with indirect effects on growth and reproduction in forest plants. These findings suggest that pulses of periodical cicadas create "bottom-up cascades," resulting in strong and reciprocal links between the aboveground and belowground components of a North American forest ecosystem.

Center for Population Biology, Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

E-mail: lhyang{at}ucdavis.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Offspring development mode and the evolution of brood parasitism.
D. C. Dearborn, L. S. MacDade, S. Robinson, A. D. Dowling Fink, and M. L. Fink (2009)
Behav. Ecol. 20, 517-524
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Periodical cicadas use light for oviposition site selection.
L. H Yang (2006)
Proc R Soc B 273, 2993-3000
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