Maldives - Veli
Part of the regional summaries: Maldives - Central (Male Atolls / Ari / Vaavu) and Maldives
April 2016 (transect survey)
July 2016 (transect survey)
More info
Maldives (NOAA CRW virtual station)Veli is table-coral country: a gently shelving terrace where plate-shaped Acropora stack in tiers from saucer-sized juveniles to meter-wide slabs, with anthias and bluestripe snapper over the reef. In January 2016 Anderson's sample sheet recorded 22 colonies killed by crown-of-thorns starfish on the two research transects. By April 2016 nearly half the corals on Veli's channel reef were bleached; the April count did not score bleaching on the Veli Lagoon reef, which had lost most of its live coral by July.
Veli އަކީ ޓޭބަލް ހިރިގާގެ ސަރަހައްދެކެވެ: މަޑުމަޑުން ފުންވަމުން ދާ ފަށަލައެއްގައި، ތަށި ފަދަ ސިފައިގެ Acropora، ސޯސަރެއްގެ ބޮޑުމިނުގެ ކުޑަ ކޮލޯނީތަކުން ފެށިގެން މީޓަރެއްގެ ފުޅާމިނުގެ ބޮޑެތި ތަށިތަކާ ހަމައަށް، ފަށަލަ ފަށަލައަށް ހުރެއެވެ. ފަރުމަތީގައި anthias އާއި bluestripe snapper ހުރެއެވެ. 2016 ގެ ޖަނަވަރީގައި، ދިރާސާގެ ދެ ޓްރާންސެކްޓުގައި crown-of-thorns ސްޓާފިޝްއިން މަރާލި 22 ކޮލޯނީ Anderson ގެ ސާމްޕަލް ޝީޓުގައި ރެކޯޑްކޮށްފައިވެއެވެ. 2016 ގެ އޭޕްރީލް ވަންދެން، Veli ގެ ޗެނަލް ފަރުގެ ހިރިގާގެ ގާތްގަނޑަކަށް ދެބައިކުޅަ އެއްބައި ހުދުވެފައި ހުއްޓެވެ. އޭޕްރީލްގެ ގުނުމުގައި Veli Lagoon ފަރުގެ ހިރިގާ ހުދުވުން ނުމިނެއެވެ. ނަމަވެސް ޖުލައި ވަންދެން އެ ފަރުގެ ދިރިހުރި ހިރިގާގެ ގިނަ ބައެއް ގެއްލިފައި ހުއްޓެވެ.
AI translation of this summary; the English is authoritative. (low confidence)
Six independent survey stations shown with the program’s logo — click one to see how far it is from this site.
Ten other CRD dive sites with their own pages within 5 km shown in orange — click a marker to open its page.
19 of the 34 photographs on this page are shown beside the text that discusses them under "Site description" below.
Site description
General benthic features
Table-coral country: a gently shelving terrace off Veli where plate-shaped Acropora stack in tiers like café tables, from saucer-sized juveniles to slabs a meter across, with cauliflower Pocillopora and massive Porites mounds filling the gaps (e.g., Image 4, Image 7, Image 15, Image 20, Image 25).
Coral cover
- Coral cover: fore reef 16% (n=8 transects) and lagoon 5.3% (n=6) in July 2016 — Coral Reef CPR point-intercept transects, after the 2016 bleaching; we were part of the CPR team.
- Live coral cover fell from 57% to 16% on the fore reef and from 69% to 5.3% in the lagoon between April and July 2016, during the 2016 global bleaching event.
- The April 2016 survey, during the bleaching, read channel / fore reef 57% (n=6) and lagoon 69% (n=6).
- For comparison, a blind Claude computer-vision point count of 12 of Anderson's January 2016 photographs (before the bleaching) reads 44%, shown beside both the April 2016 transects (during the bleaching) and the July 2016 transects (after it).
Stressors
Anderson's January 2016 sample sheet records 22 colonies killed by crown-of-thorns starfish on the two research transects (11 on each). The note reads: "No COTS seen at site, though damage is extensive." A few white branch tips and one ghost-white staghorn appear in the January photographs, and in one habitat frame about a dozen flat-topped branch ends on two pigmented colonies are stark white (e.g., Image 40); these are recent mortality, cause not stated.
By April 2016 nearly half the corals on Veli's channel reef were bleached; the April count did not score bleaching on the sheltered Veli Lagoon reef, which had lost most of its live coral by July.
Fish and other fauna
Clouds of orange anthias shimmer over the coral, and the signature spectacle is a river of yellow — a dense school of bluestripe snapper pouring across the reef in formation.
Comparisons with other data
Apart from our own transect survey shown here, we found no other surveys at this site as of 2026. Within 5 km, six independent stations recorded station-year means of 5.5–76% hard coral cover between 2015 and 2025; the nearest, Montefalcone et al. 2026 at Kuda Giri Wreck, 1.37 km away, read 39–43% between 2024 and 2025.
Dive record
The January 2016 research dive threaded transect tape between the table colonies, tagging round, shag-pile table colonies photographed from above with little white number plates (e.g., Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 5, Image 8, Image 9, Image 11, Image 13, Image 14, Image 16, Image 18, Image 23, Image 24).
CV model comparison
More info
Single-number uses (map color, regional mean, score-card sort) take the fore-reef value. Same site, April 2016 → July 2016: 57% → 16% (Same reef, same survey program: Anderson's HARP / Coral Reef CPR long-term monitoring PIT transects, April 2016 → July 2016 (fore reef; channel in April)).More info
Claude computer vision on the January 2016 photos predates the bleaching and is shown beside both the April 2016 and the July 2016 transects; other rows are comparisons and are never averaged.| Method | Hard coral cover (%) | Photos (n) ± SE |
|---|---|---|
| Transect, July 2016, fore reef (headline) | 16.1 | |
| Transect, July 2016, lagoon (shown separately) | 5.3 | |
| Transect, April 2016, channel / fore reef (during the bleaching) | 56.7 | |
| Transect, April 2016, lagoon (during the bleaching) | 69.0 | |
| In-house DINOv3, January 2016 photos | 30.8 | |
| CoralSCOP edited, January 2016 photos | 38.6 | |
| Claude, January 2016 photos (before the bleaching) | 44.1* | n = 12 · SE 3.4 |
The three computer-vision methods disagree by 13.3 pp (30.8–44.1%) and read 14.7–28.0 pp above the in-water transect (16.1%); the headline is the in-water transect because a diver transect is independent of the photographs.
*Based on only 12 reef-habitat photos; this estimate is less certain.
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 | 1 station, 2.14 km | Records ↓ |
| Montefalcone et al. 2026 | 2024–2025 | 2 stations, 1.37–4.93 km | Records ↓ |
| Reef Check | 2022 | 1 station, 3.48 km | Records ↓ |
| XL Catlin Seaview Survey | 2015–2017 | 2 stations, 1.98–2.69 km | Records ↓ |
Coral Reef DiagnosticsYear-average (illustrative only, programs differ)Within 5 km, 6 independent survey stations recorded hard coral cover in 9 records between 2015 and 2025. Of the 3 stations surveyed in more than one year, 2 were scored by divers or by people annotating photographs: 2 declined (by 4.0–17 points) between their first and latest surveys. The other 1 was scored by automated image analysis: changed by 7 points or less, inside the 7-point method-noise floor (inconclusive). The longest record, transect 37035 (XL Catlin Seaview Survey, 1.98 km away), went from 7.1% in 2015 to 5.5% in 2017. Since 2021, station-year means average 41% (range 19–60%; n = 5 station-years from 5 records). This site's own estimate (fore reef 16% · lagoon 5.3%) sits 23 points below the recent range of station-year means up to 2 km away (39–43%); 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; the XL Catlin Seaview Survey uses photo-transects with automated image annotation), 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.
| Agency | Site / location | Date | Hard coral cover (%) | Distance | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XL Catlin Seaview Survey | transect 37035 | 2015–2017 | 5.5–7.1% (2 surveys) | 1.98 km | doi:10.14264/uql.2019.930 |
| Montefalcone et al. (2020) | Cocoa Corner | 2015 | 76% best patch | 2.14 km | doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00587 |
| XL Catlin Seaview Survey | transect 37036 | 2015 | 38% | 2.69 km | doi:10.14264/uql.2019.930 |
| Reef Check | Gulhi Island Backreef | 2022 | 19% | 3.48 km | — |
| Montefalcone et al. 2026 | Kuda Giri Wreck | 2024–2025 | 39–43% (2 surveys) | 1.37 km | doi:10.1007/s00338-026-02850-x |
| Montefalcone et al. 2026 | Bajiy Giri | 2024–2025 | 43–60% (2 surveys) | 4.93 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
- Gonzalez-Rivero M, et al. (2019). Seaview Survey photo-quadrat and image classification dataset. The University of Queensland (UQ eSpace) data collection. DOI