14Bertarelli FoundationMeasuring forest productivity © Nathan Hudson-PeacockRed-footed booby © Marleen StuhrIsland Reef ConnectionsLead Investigator: Prof. Nick Graham,Lancaster UniversityThis team studies nutrient flows and feedback acrossthe seabird-island-reef system interface, particularlywhere they are adversely affected by introduced rats.Working at field sites in the Chagos Archipelago, theSeychelles, and Tetiaroa in French Polynesia, the teamsurveys a range of similar ecosystems at different stagespre- and post-rat eradication and vegetation restoration.This year, the forest team at the University of Oxfordproduced the first direct measurements of forestproductivity on tropical islands showing clearly thesignature of seabird-derived nutrients through the treeson the islands. Out on the reef, the team conductedreciprocal transplants of corals between islands withbirds and those with rats. On bird islands, results haveshown faster reef recovery from bleaching events anda two-times increase in surface area of some coralspecies, a result confirmed in calcification studiesthat show the nutrient benefit from bird islands to theproduction of new reef which, in turn, replenishes atollislands by sand production.Ultimately, results from sites that have been deratted and restored have allowed the team tomodel the post restoration potential of sites suchas the Chagos Archipelago and the huge potentialincreases in bird populations.
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