Maldives - Lohosfushi Corner
Part of the regional summaries: Maldives - Central (Male Atolls / Ari / Vaavu) and Maldives
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Maldives (NOAA CRW virtual station)A dawn dive over table corals left standing dead under algae after bleaching and crown-of-thorns starfish devastated the reef, with more than 90% coral mortality at 4-8 m in Anderson's 2017 notes; only a few cauliflower and boulder corals survived.
ހެނދުނު ފަތިހު ކުރި ފީނުމެކެވެ. މި ފީނުނީ ހިރިގާ ހުދުވުމާއި crown-of-thorns ސްޓާފިޝްތައް ފަރު ހަލާކުކުރުމަށްފަހު، ކަނޑުވިނައިގެ ދަށުގައި މަރުވެ ކޮޅަށް ހުރި ޓޭބަލް ހިރިގާތަކުގެ މަތިންނެވެ. Anderson ގެ 2017 ގެ ނޯޓްސްގައިވާ ގޮތުން 4-8 m ފުނުގައި ހިރިގާ މަރުވުމުގެ މިންވަރު 90% އަށްވުރެ ބޮޑެވެ. ސަލާމަތްވީ ހަމައެކަނި މަދު ކޮލީފްލާވަރ ހިރިގާއާއި ބޮޑެތި ގަނޑު ހިރިގާއެވެ.
AI translation of this summary; the English is authoritative. (low confidence)
Sixteen independent survey stations shown with the program’s logo — click one to see how far it is from this site.
Three other CRD dive sites with their own pages within 5 km shown in orange — click a marker to open its page.
17 of the 25 photographs on this page are shown beside the text that discusses them under "Site description" below.
Site description
General benthic features
Look closely at the few survivors: orange cauliflower corals with a tiny hawkfish tucked in the branches and massive boulder corals still holding ground among the dead tables (e.g., Image 3, Image 9, Image 10, Image 20, Image 21).
Coral cover
- Reference: Claude CV point count (this site's photos)
- Coral cover: 12% — a blind Claude computer-vision point count of 24 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
Whole terraces of table corals stand intact but gray and overgrown with algae, killed when the reef was devastated by both bleaching and crown-of-thorns starfish (Anderson's account) (e.g., Image 1); Anderson's 2017 notes record extreme bleaching damage, with more than 90% coral mortality at 4-8 m (e.g., Image 2, Image 11, Image 12, Image 15, Image 17, Image 25).
One colony, recorded as pale and bleached, is partly bleached.
Fish and other fauna
Rivers of yellow-striped snapper pour over the old coral tables, a powder-blue surgeonfish patrols the rubble, and a honeycomb moray gapes spectacularly from its crevice (e.g., Image 1, Image 5, Image 6, Image 16, Image 18, Image 19).
Comparisons with other data
Montefalcone et al. (2020) surveyed this site (Lhosfushi Kandu) in 1999 and 2002, 0.06 km from the pin. Cover values from that work are not among the survey records shown on this page. Within 5 km, sixteen independent stations recorded station-year means of 7.7–83% hard coral cover between 2012 and 2025; the nearest of these, Montefalcone et al. (2020) at Maadhu Faru Beyru, 0.60 km away, read 18–45% between 2016 and 2017.
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 | 14.1 | |
| CoralSCOP edited | 16.3 | |
| Claude (edited photos) | 12.0 | n = 24 · SE 4.3 |
The two computer-vision methods agree within 2.2 pp (14.1–16.3%) and read within 4.3 pp of Claude's blind point count (12.0%).
See a more detailed, stand-alone version of this table.
Independent surveys nearby
| Agency / program | Year(s) | Stations / distance | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montefalcone et al. (2020) | 2015–2019 | 4 stations, 0.60–3.59 km | Records ↓ |
| Montefalcone et al. 2026 | 2023–2025 | 3 stations, 0.73–4.28 km | Records ↓ |
| Reef Check | 2012–2025 | 9 stations, 0.74–3.88 km | Records ↓ |
Coral Reef DiagnosticsYear-average (illustrative only, programs differ)Within 5 km, 16 independent survey stations recorded hard coral cover in 49 records between 2012 and 2025. Of the 12 stations surveyed in more than one year, 7 declined (by 3.0–71 points) and 5 increased (by 1.0–27 points) between their first and latest surveys. The longest record, Guraidhoo backreef (Reef Check, 1.89 km away), went from 28% in 2019 (mean of 2 surveys) to 25% in 2025 (mean of 2 surveys). Since 2021, station-year means average 32% (range 16–60%; n = 12 station-years from 19 records); 2 best-patch values above 70% are left out, as they are not site means. This site's own estimate (12%) sits 4 points below the recent range of station-year means up to 2 km away (16–43%), inside the 7-point method-noise floor (inconclusive); 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. Values above 70% are marked “best patch”: surveys often target the densest coral on a reef, so these may overstate the site as a whole.
Show all 49 independent survey records
| Agency | Site / location | Date | Hard coral cover (%) | Distance | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reef Check | Biyadhoo House Reef | 2012 | 18%, mean of 3 surveys (4 m, 7 m, and 12 m) | 3.88 km | — |
| Montefalcone et al. (2020) | Villivaru Kuda Giri | 2015–2019 | 8.0–51% (range of yearly means; 4 records) | 3.59 km | doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00587 |
| Montefalcone et al. (2020) | Guraidhoo Kuda Giri | 2015–2016 | 12–83% (range of yearly means; 2 records) best patch | 3.59 km | doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00587 |
| Montefalcone et al. (2020) | Maadhu Faru Beyru | 2016–2017 | 18–45% (range of yearly means; 2 records) | 0.60 km | doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00587 |
| Montefalcone et al. (2020) | Kandooma Beyru | 2016–2019 | 7.7–34% (range of yearly means; 3 records) | 1.05 km | doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00587 |
| Reef Check | Guraidhoo Corner | 2017 | 21%, mean of 2 surveys (5 m and 10 m) | 0.78 km | — |
| Reef Check | Kandooma Beyru | 2018–2019 | 18–30% (range of yearly means; 4 surveys) | 0.74 km | — |
| Reef Check | Villivaru Giri | 2018 | 8.8%, mean of 2 surveys (5 m and 10 m) | 3.18 km | — |
| Reef Check | Guridhoo outer | 2019–2022 | 16–20% (range of yearly means; 3 surveys) | 1.11 km | — |
| Reef Check | Guraidhoo backreef | 2019–2025 | 20–31% (range of yearly means; 8 surveys) | 1.89 km | — |
| Reef Check | Villivaru Kuda Giri | 2019 | 24%, mean of 2 surveys (5 m and 10 m) | 3.45 km | — |
| Montefalcone et al. 2026 | Cocoa Beyru | 2023–2025 | 37–72% (2 surveys) best patch | 2.41 km | doi:10.1007/s00338-026-02850-x |
| Montefalcone et al. 2026 | Kandooma Beyru | 2024–2025 | 43–73% (2 surveys) best patch | 0.73 km | doi:10.1007/s00338-026-02850-x |
| Reef Check | Guraidhoo Forereef | 2024–2025 | 25–26% (range of yearly means; 4 surveys) | 1.22 km | — |
| Reef Check | Guraidhoo Banana | 2024–2025 | 25–27% (range of yearly means; 4 surveys) | 1.39 km | — |
| Montefalcone et al. 2026 | Bajiy Giri | 2024–2025 | 43–60% (2 surveys) | 4.28 km | doi:10.1007/s00338-026-02850-x |
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.
References
- Montefalcone M, Morri C, Bianchi CN (2020). Influence of Local Pressures on Maldivian Coral Reef Resilience Following Repeated Bleaching Events, and Recovery Perspectives. Frontiers in Marine Science 7:587. PDF
- Montefalcone M, Bianchi CN, Morri C, Ahmed H, Pancrazi I (2026). Outcomes of the fourth global coral bleaching (2023–2024) in the Maldives. Coral Reefs. DOI