Elliot Key, Florida

One of many perks of being a scientist in the lab of The McGuire Center of Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at The Florida Museum of Natural History is the benefit of getting to be a part of several different projects, including ones that involve travel and working with endangered species! Last week I had the pleasure of partaking on an expedition to Elliot Key, an uninhabited island in Biscayne National Park, part of the Florida Keys above Key Largo only accessible by boat. Besides having beautiful sea grasses, spiny lobsters, reef fish, and colorful sponges in tropical waters surrounding it, hot and muggy hardwood hammock habitat on the interior of the island, and being infested with mosquitoes most of the year; the island has something very special living within. It contains the only remaining known habitat for the endangered Schaus' swallowtail, Papilio aristodemus.

UF has been doing research to help revive the Schaus' numbers for several years, and began rearing the Schaus in captivity in 2012 in an emergency effort to bring up the numbers from almost nonexistent in the wild. I got to assist in releasing captive reared butterflies while I was there, along with catching, tagging, and releasing adults found on the island. While we were there we also surveyed for the Bahamian swallowtails, Papilio andraemon, another species in need of help.

The entire time we were decked out in bug suits and field attire covered from head to toe despite the high humidity and temperatures well into the high 80's and even 90's. You can't be exposed in any way with starved mosquitoes on the island with only yhe occasional raccoon or invasive squirrel to feed on. On the trails there was no breeze, as the hardwood hammock blocked all wind and breeze coming from the water. We traveled by foot (normally there's a cart to drive around the island but of course it was broken) so each day tallied hiking distances up to 10 miles in the buggy and hot conditions. I beat the heat with a camelback style water pouch in my backpack strung up through a small opening in my mosquito suit, and rehydrated myself naturally with coconut water and watermelon juice each evening, instead of opting for artificially dyed and overly loaded-with-sugar gatorade.

Hardwood hammock habitat on Elliot Key

Mosquitos on Matt's arm

Suited up

Each day I rewarded myself for my hard work with a couple hours of snorkeling. While doing so I saw lots of parrotfish, mullet, spiny lobsters, sponges, spaghetti worms, anemones, sea grass and conches. The water was warm and clear, and I kept hoping for a nurse shark- many of which we saw when eating lunch on the beach on the other side of the island but none were in the water when I was looking for them. Here are just a few of the marvelous creatures I found while exploring the waters.

Nothing beat a drink on the dock as the beautiful sun set each evening, after a home cooked dinner of whatever each of us brought for the journey as there is no food or conveniences on the island; everything had to be packed and brought with us in coolers and tote bags. I pre-made and froze tupperwares of crockpot vegan chili and rice, brought a mini-blender with oats, protein powder, cashew milk and fruit for breakfast every day, and brought the essentials for making a PB&J for lunches accompanied by fresh chopped veggies and homemade trail mix.

Sunset right off the dock

Over all my experience was wonderful. Several hundred bug bites later I felt like I contributed to a wonderful project and even got a little vacation out of it. It's crazy to say that I have a cool enough job that an experience like that was considered "work"!

A Bahamian swallowtail I had caught and tagged before releasing