February 2013 Expedition Protecting the amazing Chagos archipelago
This month an international team of scientists and conservationists – including four trustees of the Chagos Conservation Trust - will be studying the islands, shallow reef and bird life of the Chagos Archipelago.
With fish stocks plummeting worldwide and marine biodiversity in crisis, ‘megareserves’ like the Chagos could prove crucial to our oceans’ future.
Professor Charles Sheppard of CCT will be leading the expedition, and continuing his series of reef condition surveys – the longest ever conducted in the Indian Ocean:
“This expedition will test innovations in sea life monitoring and inform how we manage this vital marine sanctuary.
The outcomes could be of great significance locally, across the Indian Ocean, and in the growing network of
marine reserves around the world.”
Expedition overview
The team of scientists will be researching:
- the health of the coral reefs, focussing on younger ‘juvenile’ coral
- ‘cryptofauna’ - smaller species living amongst coral
- behaviour of breeding seabird colonies
- reef fish migration patterns
- the sea cucumber population’s recovery from poaching
- change in sea temperature and how this affects coral
Meet the expedition team
Catherine Head - University of Oxford
Catherine is a specialist in rare and endangered coral. She helped develop a programme with the ZSL to enable local managers protect these species and their habitats. Continuing her work from 2012, Catherine will be studying the role of smaller species in the Chagos reef ecosystem. Knowledge of these 'cryptofauna' is extremely limited. Catherine will be assisted by Morgan Pratchett, Michelle Gaither and Daniel Wagner.
Professor Charles Sheppard (CCT Trustee) - School of Life Sciences, Warwick University
Charles is a tropical marine and environmental scientist. He conducted the first assessments of coral in the Chagos in 1978. 35 years on, he continues to monitor coral cover, contributing to the longest running assessment of reef condition data in the Indian Ocean. Juvenile coral will also be studied to understand the next generation of coral in the Chagos. Charles will be assisted by Ronan Roche and Anne Sheppard.
Gary Fletcher – technology conservationist
Gary will use video to study groups of fish and sharks around the Chagos reefs. After his colleagues from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) successfully captured video recordings of target species in the 2012 expeditions, Gary plans to deploy more long-term monitoring of larger areas, with satellite up-link for real-time analysis.
Pete Carr, (CCT Trustee) - ornithologist
Pete first visited the Chagos in 1996 as a serving Royal Marine Commando and now works on Diego Garcia as a civilian Environmental Director. He is author of Birds of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Assisted by Yannick Mandarin, Pete will continue his monitoring of the internationally important breeding seabird populations of the Chagos. They will also tag Sooty Terns to better understand their movements around the Western Indian Ocean.
Jason Davis – dive support
Working as a dive instructor on Diego Garcia, Jason will be supporting the research team with their diving activities. Jason monitors coral bleaching and water temperature changes in Chagos and is involved in Project AWARE’s coral reef conservation work.
Dr John Turner (CCT Trustee) – coral monitoring specialist
John is a Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology at Bangor University. His research advances techniques for coral reef monitoring. John will video reef transects in Chagos to extend his series of recordings documenting changes in the coral cover. Measuring the impact of climate change on coral in the pristine Chagos waters can help expose the effects of pollution on reefs elsewhere.
Professor Morgan Pratchett - James Cook University
Morgan will deploy Autonomous Reef Monitoring Systems to measure coral biodiversity. A Professorial Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Australia, Morgan’s current research focuses on major disturbances that impact coral reef ecosystems. He has also conducted extensive research on the biology and ecology of coral reef butterflyfishes.
Dr Ronan Roche – Bangor University
Dr Roche's PhD examined long-term changes in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. This study was conducted in association with the Natural History Museum, London. He has also has carried out research on coral reefs in the Caribbean, and the South China Sea. In Chagos he will study parrot fish feeding on coral to determine how much reef material is removed by these species. He will also assist in coral reef survey work to track changes in the coral communities over time.
Yannick Mandarin – graduate of the Chagossian Community Environment Project
Yannick Mandarin is one of the first graduates of the Chagossian Community Environment Project, organised by the Chagos Conservation Trust and ZSL. This experience inspired him to seek a career in conservation. On this expedition - Yannick's first visit to Chagos - he will learn the methodology for measuring seabird colonies from Pete Carr.