Predator Satiation
Predator satiation is a survival strategy where synchronized reproduction overwhelms predators.
By flowering simultaneously across the entire population, bamboo overwhelms seed predators.
Predator satiation is a survival strategy where synchronized reproduction overwhelms predators. When bamboo flowers simultaneously across the entire population, predators (rats, birds, insects) can only consume <5% of seeds - there are simply too many seeds at once. If flowering were staggered, predators could consume 100% of seeds over time. The strategy requires extreme synchronization: 90-95% of bamboo individuals flower within the same year despite growing in different conditions.
Business Application of Predator Satiation
Market timing can benefit from predator satiation logic - launching alongside competitors in a 'wave' may be better than isolated timing, as the market's attention and resources get distributed across all entrants rather than focused on destroying one company.
Discovery
Janzen (1976)
First proposed the predator satiation hypothesis for bamboo's synchronized flowering cycles