For Chris Boyes, being the lab manager at the research centre on D’Arros Island in the Seychelles means that he is the full-time person on the ground who maintains a world-class facility for research and education. At the same time, he manages the long-term studies and rehabilitation projects on and around the island and neighbouring St Joseph’s Atoll.
Since gaining a BSc in forestry (nature conservation) from the University of Stellenbosch in 2004, Chris has worked on many diverse research projects, from nesting sea turtles in Costa Rica and Maputaland, South Africa, to wetland birds in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. He specialises in working with nesting sea turtles and is currently completing his MSc thesis on leatherback sea turtles in Maputaland with the University of Stellenbosch.