Maldives - Bodu Hithi Thila
Part of the regional summaries: Maldives - Central (Male Atolls / Ari / Vaavu) and Maldives
2017-05-15
More info
Maldives (NOAA CRW virtual station)A submerged pinnacle split between rubble plains and live coral knolls, home to a monster dome coral, a turtle that looks like a hawksbill, a nurse shark, and giant purple anemones.
ކަނޑުގެ ތިރީގައިވާ ތިލައެކެވެ. މި ތިލައިގެ ބައެއް ހިރިގާ ކުދިކުދިވެފައިވާ ބިންތަކެވެ (rubble). އަނެއް ބަޔަކީ ދިރިހުރި ހިރިގާގެ ކުދި ފަރުތަކެވެ. އެތަނުގައި ވަރަށް ބޮޑު ގުނބަޒުގެ ސިފައިގެ ހިރިގާއެއް، ކަހަނބެއް ކަމަށް ފެންނަ ވެލާއެއް، ނިދާ މިޔަރެއް، އަދި ބޮޑެތި ވައިލެޓް ކުލައިގެ anemone ތައް ހުރެއެވެ.
AI translation of this summary; the English is authoritative. (low confidence)
One independent survey station shown with the program’s logo — click one to see how far it is from this site.
9 of the 36 photographs on this page are shown beside the text that discusses them under "Site description" below.
Site description
Setting
A submerged pinnacle worth two visits — an afternoon pass and a dawn return — Bodu Hithi Thila serves its drama in layers.
General benthic features
Climb the thila's flanks and the reef roars back — coral knolls stacked with living colonies, a "monster" dome coral compatible with Porites the size of a small car, and a face swarming with orange anthias-like fish (e.g., Image 15, Image 20).
Coral cover
- Reference: Claude CV point count (this site's photos)
- Coral cover: 8.7% — a blind Claude computer-vision point count of 30 of Anderson's edited photographs (20 points per photo; water, fish, and obstructions excluded). Other computer-vision methods are listed in the method table.
Stressors
The shallow rubble plains are fields of broken framework and dead staghorn thickets (e.g., Image 18), with humbug damselfish hovering over them and over the live knolls between them (e.g., Image 17).
During a crown-of-thorns removal survey in May 2017, divers from Coral Reef CPR and Carpe Diem Maldives removed 23 crown-of-thorns starfish from this reef on 14 May and 31 more on the 15 May dawn dive (Coral Reef CPR 2017, which lists the reef as "Giri"). One massive colony carries white lobes, recent mortality of unclear cause (e.g., Image 35).
Fish and other fauna
The celebrity sightings came fast: a turtle compatible with a hawksbill bulldozing across the rubble, a nurse shark jammed under a ledge, and — most photogenic of all — balled-up magnificent-type anemones scattered over the reef like giant purple satin pillows, one unfurling to flash its orange tentacles (e.g., Image 12, Image 13, Image 23, Image 24).
Comparisons with other data
Coral Reef CPR and Carpe Diem Maldives surveyed this site for crown-of-thorns sea stars in May 2017. Within 5 km, one independent station, Reef Check at Hembadhoo Hohola, 1.44 km away, read 17% in 1997.
CV model comparison
More info
A few colony-focused photos raise the mean; the median is the typical photo. No computer-vision method yet estimates coral cover accurately on new images, so treat this as indicative rather than a measurement; it is revised as the methods improve.More info
Other rows are for comparison only and are never averaged. No diver transect exists for these photos, so agreement between rows is not accuracy.| Method | Hard coral cover (%) | Photos (n) ± SE |
|---|---|---|
| In-house DINOv3 | 14.8 | |
| CoralSCOP edited | 16.5 | |
| Claude (edited photos) | 8.7 | n = 30 · SE 1.6 |
The two computer-vision methods agree within 1.7 pp (14.8–16.5%) and read 6.1–7.8 pp above Claude's blind point count (8.7%); the headline is Claude's blind point count because no transect or manual count exists here.
See a more detailed, stand-alone version of this table.
Independent surveys nearby
Within 5 km, 1 independent survey station recorded hard coral cover in 1997. The most recent nearby survey is from 1997, so these values predate recent heat stress. This site's own estimate (8.7%) sits 8.3 points below the one nearby survey station (17%); the methods differ, so the comparison is context, not a like-for-like test.
Collected by other programs using different methods (Reef Check uses point-intercept transects), so these are context for the figures above, not a like-for-like comparison. Where a station was surveyed more than once, the cell shows either the range of its values or, as a single value, the mean of surveys made in one year. Station names are not dive-site names.
| Agency | Site / location | Date | Hard coral cover (%) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reef Check | Hembadhoo Hohola | 1997 | 17%, mean of 2 surveys (3 m and 10 m) | 1.44 km |
Data & links
All images from Coral Reef Diagnostics. Data are from Coral Reef Diagnostics and the organizations named in the data sources above.
© Coral Reef Diagnostics.