Hurricane Idalia blew American flamingos from the Yucatan across at least 13 U.S. states in 2023, some reaching as far north as Wisconsin and Ohio—a dramatic reminder that tropical cyclones reshape wildlife in ways both catastrophic and surprising. As storms intensify in a warming climate, the question of how animals survive and adapt to these destructive forces has become urgent. But a new University of Florida study reveals something unexpected: while hurricanes devastate, they also create unexpected winners in the natural world.
The research, published in Biological Reviews, analyzed more than 300 scholarly articles examining how animals respond to tropical cyclones across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Senior author Hance Ellington, an assistant professor at UF/IFAS's Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, found that wildlife responses fall into strikingly different categories. Some species thrive in the aftermath. Others face extinction. Many flee or hide in ingenious ways. And some have evolved entirely new survival strategies.
The most counterintuitive finding: certain native species actually benefit from hurricanes. Heavy rainfall fills ponds perfect for breeding—the Eastern spadefoot has earned the nickname "hurricane toad" because tropical cyclones trigger explosive breeding events. Blue-footed boobies show higher survival rates after storms, likely because hurricane conditions boost fish populations that sustain them. In the Florida Keys, key deer produced more fawns after Hurricane Georges in 1998, when strong winds stripped high canopy vegetation, exposing lush new growth that provided abundant food.
But the story darkens quickly. Species like the Cozumel thrasher and Miami blue butterfly have teetered on extinction due to tropical cyclones. Indirect effects prove equally deadly: saltwater flooding destroys American alligators' freshwater habitats, and queen conches suffocate beneath sand and rubble churned up by storm surge.
Animals deploy remarkable survival tactics. Juvenile blacktip sharks detect barometric pressure drops and evacuate nursery bays for deeper water—without ever having experienced a storm before. African elephants migrate from floodplains to higher woodlands. White-tailed deer abandon grazing lands for elevated shelters they otherwise never visit. Some species pursue more audacious strategies: Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses and wandering albatrosses have been recorded flying into a tropical cyclone's eye, where wind speeds are lowest.
Hurricanes also redistribute invasive species across regions, creating new survival challenges for native populations. Lionfish spread from Florida to the Bahamas. Green iguanas hitched rides on floating storm debris to tropical islands. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 likely released Burmese pythons from a South Florida facility, though scientists debate whether this triggered or merely worsened the now-established invasion.
"The big picture is that tropical cyclones impact wildlife, directly or indirectly, in a variety of ways, whether via survival, impacting reproduction or by other means," Ellington said. As storms become more frequent and intense, understanding these patterns becomes essential for wildlife management and conservation decisions. Some species will suffer catastrophic losses. Others will find unexpected refuge. The natural world, it seems, contains far more resilience and strangeness than we've yet fully appreciated.