A vital milestone has been reached in the ongoing conservation campaign to save rare endemic species. Nature Seychelles, supported by the Seychelles Magpie Robin Recovery Team (SMART), and with funding from the Environment Trust Fund and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), has published the Best Practice Handbook for Management of a Critically Endangered Species - the Seychelles Magpie Robin (or Pi Santez). The book is the culmination of 16 years of intensive practical conservation effort, compiled in one volume as a record of all that has been learned since the Recovery Plan for the species kicked in to action in 1990.

Unless you are a fan of horror films like Aliens, you probably have little experience or knowledge of parasitoids. Researcher Steve Hazell introduces these little known but fascinating creatures, and makes a suggestion about how white fly might be controlled.

Cleo Small of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reports

The Southern Indian Ocean is one of the most special areas of the world for albatrosses, the remarkable and graceful flying giants of the oceans. The Indian Ocean is also crucial for the survival of albatrosses. There are 21 species in all, and 19 of them are threatened with extinction. The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has a very important role to play in their protection.

Conor Jameson arrived in Seychelles ten days after the tsunami struck. He reports here on some of the environmental impacts felt in Seychelles and beyond, and on the reaction of wildlife, both before and after the waves came.