Chagos is both an important and amazing location for coral reef research. This is my second trip to Chagos, the first being in 2010, when I helped Dr Nicholas Graham measure the size and abundance of reef fishes, to derive an estimate of the total biomass or weight of reef fishes at each of the [...]

I have not set foot on land for over a week. So when Charles and Anne asked if I would like to accompany them to Ile de Coin, just after we have finished a coral survey dive, I grab the opportunity. We approach a concrete jetty that has a small railway line running along it, [...]

My main scientific task on this expedition is to assess whether coral and other life form cover have changed since 2006. This includes assessing soft coral, calcareous algae and macroalgae amongst others. During my first visit to Chagos in 2006, I recorded a series of underwater video transects at reef sites both in the lagoons [...]

  My time on Chagos is just amazing, emotional and fun. My grandparents lived, married and raised kids on these islands. Now I can put a picture to all the stories I heard from my grandfather, Henri Mandarin, as I was growing up. So far, I’ve visited 35 islands with Peter Carr who’s doing an [...]

Since 2006, we‘ve had temperature loggers deployed at different sites and depths around the Chagos atolls. Recording temperatures at two-hourly intervals, they provide some interesting observations on coral cover and mortality, which at times, is worrisome. One of our jobs on this expedition is to recover as many of these as we can find, download [...]

It’s day two and my co-worker Yannick Mandarin and I, are now familiar with the research expedition mother vessel. We’ve gone through the boating drills, small craft and engines to make sure we’re happy that we can safely reach our target islands.   Yannick is also now acquainted with the Chagos avifauna and bird census [...]