Scientists wiped out Florida island insects to watch nature recover

Imagine erasing almost every insect and small animal from an island, then watching nature rebuild itself from scratch. That was exactly what a team of ecologists did in the Florida Keys during one of the most influential ecological experiments ever conducted. In 1966, researchers enclosed tiny mangrove islands in enormous plastic tents and fumigated them to remove nearly all arthropods, including insects, spiders and other small invertebrates. Rather than creating permanent devastation, the experiment became a rare opportunity to observe how wildlife recolonises empty habitats in real time. The results fundamentally changed scientists' understanding of island ecosystems and continue to influence conservation strategies for fragmented habitats around the world.Scientists turned tiny mangrove islands into natural laboratoriesThe ambitious field experiment was carried out by ecologists Daniel Simberloff and Edward O.