Featuring a three part update of our Healthy Islands, Healthy Reefs programme by our project manager Dr Pete Carr – our aim to increase the coral reefs’ resilience through guano runoff is mirrored in Dr Tom B Letessier’s article about his discovery that dolphins’ excreta also improve reef health. Our conservation efforts will hopefully allow the endemic brain coral nurseries documented by Dr Bryan Wilson in his article to flourish, and invasive species eradication to improve the viability of turtle eggs is detailed in Holly Stokes article about her upcoming PhD research work. 

Jodey Peyton’s article details how biosecurity, i.e. limiting the spread of invasive species, is being monitored and improved on Diego Garcia. Her and Danielle Frohlich’s article detail how data from the islands is cataloged into iNaturalist for researchers and the public to share. The fascinating story of the discovery and identification of a historic wreck off Eagle Island is told by Bridget Buxton, Caroline Durville, Gary Philbrick, John and Casper Potter. The man and motivation behind the stunning images of the Chagos is revealed in Jon Slayer’s article. And our sister organisation in the US provides a brief summary of their founding and conservation efforts over the past three decades.

We hope you enjoy the read. If you want to contribute to the next issue of the annual Chagos News, please email the editor at chagosnews@chagos-trust.org by October-end 2023.