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, ecologists Edward O. Wilson and Daniel Simberloff conducted an extraordinary experiment on Florida’s mangrove islands, exploring how ecosystems recover after complete…

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…