INSEAD Annual Report 2023-20143 test - Flipbook - Page 39
Our Impact in 2022
Marine Science 2023
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Collectively, these results reveal how rat
introductions disrupt nutrient flows among pelagic,
island and coral reef ecosystems. Removing invasive
rats will therefore recover seabird populations and
all the benefits they provide for islands and reefs.
Research on existing eradication projects show that
seabird nutrients return to islands and coral reefs
within 16 years of rat removal. However, de-ratting
needs to be combined with the restoration of native
island vegetation. Models from the seabird team
show that restoring just 1 km2 of abandoned coconut
plantation to native forest and savannah could more
than double the number of breeding pairs of seabirds
in the Chagos Archipelago.
This body of science has informed and motivated
plans for re-wilding tropical islands, as a vital
conservation action to restore biodiversity and
build resilience for vulnerable ecosystems in a
rapidly changing climate. The research was central
to a white paper produced by Re:Wild that was
subsequently published as a peer-reviewed paper
(Sandin et al., 2022). In March, the Island-Ocean
Connection Challenge was launched at the Our
Ocean summit in Palau that aims to restore 40
globally significant island-ocean ecosystems from
ridge to reef by 2030 to benefit people, wildlife
and our planet. In July, the islands and reef team
collected data alongside the eradication of invasive
rats on Tetiaroa Atoll in French Polynesia. In October,
the team and collaborators ran a workshop to
consider priorities for re-wilding across Indian Ocean
islands at the WIOMSA conference in South Africa.
At the same time, programme scientists collaborated
with the Seychelles Islands Foundation as part of the
Monaco Explorations expedition to Aldabra, where
knowledge exchange is underway to inform their
re-wilding efforts. In the Chagos Archipelago, the
Chagos Conservation Trust progressed their ‘Healthy
Islands, Healthy Reefs’ programme with research
into interactions between land crabs and rat bait.
In collaboration with Marine Science programme
scientists, this programme is working to complete
the detailed rat eradication plan and progress
the vegetation management plan that are the
foundational for re-wilding the Chagos Archipelago.
References: Benkwitt, C.E., Carr, P., Wilson, S.K., Graham, N.A.J. (2022) ‘Seabird diversity and biomass enhance cross-ecosystem
nutrient subsidies’ – Proceedings B [seabirds]. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0195
Sandin, S.A. et al. (incl. Graham, N.A.J.) (2022) ‘Harnessing island–ocean connections to maximize marine benefits of island
conservation’ https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122354119
