Three Brothers, Chagos

The Three Brothers are a group of three small uninhabited coral islands in the British Indian Ocean Territory. It is located along the central western rim of the Great Chagos Bank in the Chagos Archipelago. The islands are part of the Chagos Marine Protected Area since 1998 and support large nesting colonies for seabirds such as sooty terns, noddies, and shearwaters.

Sooty terns nesting in South Brother Island

History

The islands are part of the Chagos Archipelago, which comprises 55 islands across five coral atolls in the Indian Ocean. While small settlements came up in the 18th century, it was permanently occupied by the British after the Napoleonic Wars. The coconut plantations were leased and sold to Mauritian and Seychellois settlers to produce oil. In the 20th century, the archipelago was detached when Mauritius was granted independence in the 1960s, and is subject to a sovereignty dispute between Mauritius and the United Kingdom since then.^[1][2]

Geography

Three Brothers are a group of three small uninhabited coral islands in the Chagos Archipelago of the British Indian Ocean Territory. It is located along the central western rim of the Great Chagos Bank, which is the world's largest coral atoll structure. The islands are low-lying atolls surrounding lagoons, with restricted access and special permits required to visit the islands.^[3] The islands are part of the 640,000 km² (250,000 sq mi) Chagos Marine Protected Area since 1998.^[3][4] It is covered by patches of hardwood forests.^[5]

Biodiversity

The shallow coral reefs and sea plains around the islands support various species of aquatic animals.^[3] The islands serve as important birding sites, and support large nesting colonies for seabirds such as brown noddies, lesser noddies, sooty terns and tropical shearwaters.^[5]

In 1975 during the Joint Services Expedition to Danger Island, the expedition members were taken by RFA Resurgent to Eagle Islands, then by ketch and inflatable craft to Danger Island, and then to Three Brothers. The expedition made a topographical survey of the coral reefs, an ecological survey of the Pangus corals on it, and a study on the metabolism of the reef.^[6] A reference collection of samples of the flora and fauna of the area was also undertaken.^[7]