mike wu internship
TRANSCRIPT
Exploring Periodic Prime Cicada Lifespans
Michael WuDr. Paul Miller
Neural Modeling GroupVolen Center for Complex
SystemsBrandeis UniversityOctober 15, 2009
Volen Center for Complex Systems
Dr. Miller & Mark Bourjaily
Jian Lv
Lab Room
More Pictures
Periodic Trends of Magicicada
Prime life spans of either 13 or 17 years.
Periodic mass emergence during the summer.
Why do they have prime life spans and how did they adapt?
Modeling Magicicada
Predator SatiationResonance
Predator Satiation
Growth vs Death
Results
Supports a model that Magicicada evolved to maximize predator satiation and minimize resonance.
Conducted brute-force simulations to find optimal growth – death rates for predator species.
Final Thoughts
Challenging – Provides hands-on insight into academia
Exciting – Learn new material that you are interested in.
Recommendation
- Experience level