A new study has revealed that hurricanes play a crucial role in boosting the population of the endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly, a species endemic to Florida, US.
By analysing a 35-year dataset, researchers discovered that these storms actually help the species recover and thrive.
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Tracking the Schaus’ swallowtail
The Schaus’ swallowtail is one of the rarest butterflies in the US. Since the 1980s, scientists at the Florida Museum of Natural History have been monitoring its population on Elliott Key, an island in Biscayne National Park just off the coast of Miami.
Every spring, researchers braved intense heat and swarms of mosquitoes to track Schaus’ swallowtail numbers, and their long-term efforts have provided valuable insights into population trends, explains Jaret Daniels, senior author of the study and curator at the museum’s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity.
“You might have a drought in one year and abundant rain in the other year, and that can cause dramatic shifts in both occupancy and abundance, especially in insects, which produce a lot of offspring and respond relatively quickly. So, the benefit of having a long-term study is you can help minimise that noise in the system.”
How hurricanes help
At first, the researchers – who published their findings in Biological Conservation – couldn’t find a clear trend in the butterfly’s population data. But when they looked at hurricane records, they spotted a pattern: swallowtail numbers increased after major storms.
Hurricanes initially damage the butterfly’s habitat by stripping trees of their leaves and flooding the land. However, the destruction creates ideal conditions for the butterfly’s host plants – torchwood and wild lime – to grow fresh shoots. These tender leaves are the preferred food for Schaus’ swallowtail caterpillars, leading to a population boom in the years following a storm.
Threats to survival
Despite their ability to bounce back after hurricanes, Schaus’ swallowtails face growing threats, say the researchers.
Once widespread across South Florida, habitat loss and urban development have drastically reduced their range. Rising sea levels and stronger storms linked to climate change also pose serious risks, warns Daniels. “If another storm as powerful as Hurricane Andrew hits, it could be devastating for the butterfly.”
To safeguard the species, scientists are reintroducing Schaus’ swallowtails to protected conservation areas. By spreading the population across multiple locations, they hope to reduce the risk of a single disaster wiping them out.
This research highlights the importance of long-term studies in conservation. It also shows how nature can be surprisingly resilient – if given the right conditions to thrive, the study concludes.
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