Bertarelli-Annual-Report-2024-FULL - Flipbook - Page 18
Bertarelli Foundation
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It has been another interesting and productive year
for the team assessing cross-ecosystem connections
between islands and coral reefs, driven by seabird
nutrient inputs. First and foremost, Jennifer Appoo
defended and was awarded her PhD from the Université
de La Réunion, which assessed the links between
seabirds, islands and marine ecosystems in the Chagos
Archipelago and the southern Seychelles. The team
has published 10 papers this year, including in Science
and Current Biology. This has included an overview
paper of the role of species eradications for ecosystem
restoration, a demonstration that coral colonies in the
Chagos Archipelago can increase calcification rates by
1.5 – 3 times when adjacent to healthy seabird islands,
an evaluation of seascape ecological connectivity across
Tetiaroa Atoll in French Polynesia, and evidence of seabird
enrichment of mangrove ecosystems at Aldabra Atoll,
Seychelles, including the rewiring of mangrove associated
invertebrate food webs. The science produced by the
team has had wide coverage in the international media,
including stories in The Times, The Economist, Science
Magazine, Bloomberg Green, Seychelles Nation, The
Conversation, and radio news channels. The team have
presented project findings at eight different international
conferences, including running a thematic session entitled
‘Ecological flows and fluxes across the land-sea interface’,
at the British Ecological Society conference.
Island Reef Connections
Lead Investigator: Prof. Nick Graham,
Lancaster University
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