Hurricanes have helped shape the subtropical ecology of Southwest Florida; but given the amount of man-made development and water-flow changes that have occurred over the last 100 years, some native species may not be able to recover from this summer's storms, say two local scientists.

Biologists Win Everham, a Florida Gulf Coast University professor, and Kevin Erwin told nearly 200 people at a Fort Myers breakfast Wednesday their theory on how four major storms that made landfall in Florida this year may affect the state's remaining natural systems.

Like fires, hurricanes have been a constant force in coastal Florida for thousands of years. A disturbance in themselves, large tropical systems can damage coastal environments and clear out large swaths of native vegetation.

Historically, plant species destroyed by storms have been able to re-establish themselves after hurricanes. That may not be the case given today's urban and altered Florida landscape.

"We can say pretty safely that (natural systems) have seen four hurricanes in one month," said Everham, an expert on disaster ecology. "But (these systems) have never seen four hurricanes in one month with as many people as we have now."

Hurricane impacts on plants and animals has been a hot topic among scientists since Hurricane Charley made landfall Aug. 13. Researchers have studied natural habitat impacts after large storms made landfall prior to this year, but the series of four storms that hit Florida over the scope of a few weeks this summer have magnified the cause-and-effect relationship between hurricanes and nature.

Everham and Erwin argued that Florida's fragmented ecology is now more vulnerable to hurricane impacts because there are fewer native seed sources and more paved land than ever before across the state. Exotic plants that can out-compete native trees and bushes are also adept at taking over natural habitats that have been disturbed by man or tropical storms.

"If the habitat is disturbed enough, the recovery may become slow or even arrested," Everham said. "Mangroves have seen (hurricanes) throughout their history, and they should be able to recover from this. But if they're out-competed by exotics, they may not come back at all."

Less habitat could also equal more damage to the natural systems that remain intact, Erwin said.

"Hurricanes today potentially have greater impacts to our remaining habitats than they ever did before," he said.

Wednesday's presentation drew a varied audience, from science students in local public schools to environmental groups and elected officials.

"There's some issues that need to be addressed with impacts to the environment by hurricanes," Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah said after the discussion. "The fragmentation caused by development in Florida has put environmental systems at risk."

Matt Bixler, an environmental policy specialist with The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, said he left the meeting with a new outlook on large tropical systems and their impact on the region's landscape.

"We work with environmental things all the time (at the Conservancy), but your reaction to hurricanes — even in our field — is to look at the human toll," Bixler said. "This helps you look at the systems and see how they can handle hurricanes."