 The elimination of these pigs in 1958 — the result of a personal project by Kenneth E. Stager — has caused most of this vegetation to disappear, as the population of land crabs ("Johngarthia planata") has returned to millions.The result is virtually a sandy desert, with only 674 palms counted by Christian Jost during the "Passion 2001" French mission, and five islets in the lagoon with grass that the terrestrial crabs cannot reach.On the north-west side the most abundant plant species are "Cenchrus echinatus", "Sida rhombifolia", and "Corchorus aestuans".