Late last year, biologist Colin Donihue traveled to the Turks and Caicos Islands to study an endangered rock iguana. After he and his colleagues finished up their research on Pine Cay and Water Cay, they headed back north.

Less than a week later, disaster struck—two hurricanes rocked the islands, back to back.

“Four days after we left, Hurricane Irma came through,” says Donihue, who’s a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and the Paris Natural History Museum. Hurricane Maria followed shortly after. (Photos: See Hurricane Irma’s devastation in Florida and the Caribbean.)

The islands saw massive destruction, but amid the tragedy, Donihue and his team found an opportunity to learn about nature’s resilience. Six weeks later, they returned to the islands