Chagos Conservation Trust

Last week we started November with #WorldEcologyDay 🌍 We celebrate this day to better understand how our actions affect everything around us. Let’s honour, protect, and nurture the #ecosystems that sustain us all! 🌱 #CCT🐢

Spotlight on a Species🔍✨ Sooty terns are true seabirds, only coming to land to rest on islands. With feathers that are not water resistant and with little swimming ability, they almost never rest on the water’s surface. Instead, they feed while flying, swooping down to scoop prey from the ocean surface — sometimes even catching fish that other predators have chased out of the water! 🌊🐦🐟 #CCT 🐢 #sootytern #seabirds #tern #marinelife #protectwildlife #spotlightonspecies #Chagos #scicomns

The #Azores has created Europe's largest #MPA! 🌊 Half of this vast area will be fully safeguarded with no resource extraction, while the other half will remain under high protection. This landmark effort will help conserve precious #marinehabitats and iconic species like whales, sharks, sea turtles, and deep-sea corals 🐋🪸🦈 By boosting #biodiversity, supporting #sustainablefishing, and building #climateresilience, the Azores is leading the charge toward the 2030 goal of protecting 30% of our oceans and lands 💙🌍 Read more here ⬇ https://lnkd.in/d8w5FSP8 #CCT 🐢 #30by30 #MarineProtectedArea #Conservation #MarineConservation #ProtectOurOceans #scicomm #ScienceCommunication

We are expanding our #Board, and are looking for 4 passionate new #Trustees. If you are interested in conserving the unique environment of the #Chagos Archipelago and have expertise in membership management, scientific conference planning, or are a member of the Mauritian-based #Chagossian community, or the Mauritian #conservation sector, then this opportunity is for you! 📅 Quarterly meetings - in-person and online; 🤝 Social events and training; ✉️ To apply, send your CV and a one-page supporting application to our Director, Sarah Puntan-Galea (director@chagos-trust.com), or contact our Chair, Chris Davies (chair@chagos-trust.com), for an informal chat about the roles. Read more about this opportunity on our website ⬇ https://lnkd.in/grhq74Bv #CCT 🐢

Some of the #CCT🐢 team had the opportunity to attend Mapping Ocean Wealth, a fascinating seminar led by THE NATURE CONSERVATORY's Dr Mark Spalding at Swansea University yesterday 🌊 Dr Spalding shared his insights from over a decade of work quantifying ecosystem services, including carbon storage, coastal protection, water purification, and fisheries enhancement provided by coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass, saltmarshes, and oyster reefs. His research has shaped #conservation strategies worldwide, and informed critical global assessments on marine ecosystem health 🌍

After 25 years of dedicated #conservation efforts, the Caretta caretta loggerhead sea #turtles are making an extraordinary comeback in the Mediterranean! 🌊 Greece is seeing an increase from fewer than 7,000 nests per year to now over 10,000 annually, proof that #conservation works! But with climate change and tourism threats still apparent, the fight to protect them isn’t over 🐢 Have a further read here ⬇️  https://lnkd.in/d9EHicXt #CCT 🐢 / The Marine Diaries🙏 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #seaturtleconservation #carettacaretta #saveouroceans #marinelife #protectwildlife

🌊✨ A historic moment for ocean #conservation! Over 4,500 square miles off California’s coast have been designated as the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. The first Indigenous-led marine sanctuary, protecting a rich diversity of marine life 🌎🐟 Follow the link to read more ⬇️  https://lnkd.in/dstZ2Ut9 #CCT🐢 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••  #OceanConservation #IndigenousLeadership #ClimateAction #ChumashSanctuary #MarineScience #OceanScience #scicomm #sciencecommunication

What does life look like for a sea #turtle? 🐢   This footage supports research at Swansea University on the diet of immature #hawksbill #turtles in the #Chagos Archipelago 🎥 The cameras remain attached for around 24 hours before automatically detaching and floating to the surface. This approach allows for a comprehensive diet analysis, combining dietary DNA metabarcoding, microbiome characterisation, stable isotope analysis, and animal-borne video 🧬    Thank you for this great insight! 🙏 #CCT 🐢

Hidden #coral secrets revealed! Dr Ken Johnson, #CCT secretary and scientific advisor, takes us through the Natural History Museum, uncovering fossilised corals from Indonesia’s #coraltriangle dating back 30 million years 🪸 These corals offer insights into how they’ve survived environmental changes – and could hold the key to protecting today’s reefs from #climatechange 🌊 Murky waters once helped corals survive, and research shows they might still offer a refuge from the devastating effects of #coralbleaching 🌍 Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gzXCPNSw #CoralReefs #ClimateResilience #MarineScience #scicomm #sciencecommunication

The Board and staff of #CCT got together at Swansea University today and yesterday for an in-person Finance Committee, Board meeting and, half-way through our five-year strategy, review where we are, what we have achieved, and whether we are on-track as a Trust - which we are! We also welcomed a new Board member and Digital Lead, Josh Greatorex-Davies 💻 As a charity, we mostly operate online to ensure our funds are used for scientific-related work, but it is important to meet face-to-face a few times a year. We also took this opportunity to hear presentations about #Chagos #turtles from the university's Maritime #Conservation #Ecology Laboratory #MarCEL group, and tour the campus botanical gardens, research vessel, and Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🐢🌳🌸⛴️🐟