Maldives - Veligandu
Part of the regional summaries: Maldives - Central (Male Atolls / Ari / Vaavu) and Maldives
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Maldives (NOAA CRW virtual station)Crown-of-thorns starfish were feeding across Veligandu in May 2017, and Anderson's field sheet records 227 removed here on two dives. The notes say most large starfish were eating encrusting and massive corals by day and mushroom corals were hit especially hard, while many small Acropora colonies survived partly eaten and the big Diploastrea colonies were untouched.
2017 ގެ މެއި މަހު، Veligandu ގެ ހުރިހާ ހިސާބެއްގައި crown-of-thorns ސްޓާފިޝްތައް ހިރިގާ ކަމުން ދިޔައެވެ. Anderson ގެ ފީލްޑް ޝީޓުގައި ރެކޯޑްކޮށްފައިވާ ގޮތުން، ދެ ފީނުމުގައި މިތަނުން 227 ސްޓާފިޝް ދުރުކުރެވުނެވެ. ނޯޓްސްގައިވާ ގޮތުން، ގިނަ ބޮޑެތި ސްޓާފިޝްތައް ދުވާލު ކަމުން ދިޔައީ ހިލަމަތީގައި ފަތުރިފައިވާ ހިރިގާއާއި ބޮޑެތި ގަނޑު ހިރިގާއެވެ. އަދި mushroom coral ތަކަށް ޚާއްޞަކޮށް ބޮޑު ގެއްލުމެއް ލިބުނެވެ. ނަމަވެސް ކުދި Acropora ކޮލޯނީތަކުގެ ގިނަ ޢަދަދެއް ބައެއް ބައި ކާލެވިފައި ހުރި ނަމަވެސް ދިރިހުރިއިރު، ބޮޑެތި Diploastrea ކޮލޯނީތަކަށް އަތެއް ނުލެވުނެވެ.
AI translation of this summary; the English is authoritative. (low confidence)
Two independent survey stations shown with the program’s logo — click one to see how far it is from this site.
One other CRD dive site with its own page within 5 km shown in orange — click a marker to open its page.
5 of the 17 photographs on this page are shown beside the text that discusses them under "Site description" below.
Site description
Setting
Veligandu is beautiful — sandy channels, staghorn thickets, big table corals — but this dive turned into a crime-scene walkthrough (e.g., Image 3).
General benthic features
Away from the crown-of-thorns damage, the reef flexes what it still has: dense branching-coral stands, a grand dome of Diploastrea, and the dive's giddiest moment — a mob of big yellow-finned trevally engulfing the photographer until they were the only thing in frame (e.g., Image 10).
Coral cover
- Reference: Claude CV point count (this site's photos)
- Coral cover: 17% — a blind Claude computer-vision point count of 18 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
Crown-of-thorns seastars were everywhere: a huge one splayed on the sand with electric violet-striped spines and a retinue of tiny fish sheltering beneath it, another clamped tightly onto a coral head (e.g., Image 2).
Their calling cards surround them — chalk-white feeding scars spreading across a honeycomb brain coral, staghorn branches stripped to skeleton from the base up, a mound coral eaten down one flank (e.g., Image 1, Image 4).
Anderson's field sheet records 227 crown-of-thorns starfish removed on two dives here (16 May 2017; Coral Reef CPR 2017 also lists 227): most large starfish were feeding by day on encrusting and massive corals, mushroom corals were hit especially hard, many small Acropora colonies were still alive though some were partly eaten, and the large Diploastrea colonies were untouched.
Comparisons with other data
We found no other surveys confirmed at this site as of 2026. Within 5 km, two Reef Check stations recorded station-year means of 8.8–12% hard coral cover between 2001 and 2011; the nearest, Reef Check at Laguna Beyru House Reef, 3.63 km away, read 12% in 2011.
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 | 13.0 | |
| CoralSCOP edited | 22.4 | |
| Claude (edited photos) | 16.7* | n = 18 · SE 4.2 |
The two computer-vision methods differ by 9.4 pp (13.0–22.4%) and read within 5.7 pp of Claude's blind point count (16.7%); the headline is Claude's blind point count because no transect or manual count exists here.
*Based on only 18 reef-habitat photos; this estimate is less certain.
See a more detailed, stand-alone version of this table.
Independent surveys nearby
Coral Reef DiagnosticsWithin 5 km, 2 independent survey stations recorded hard coral cover in 5 surveys between 2001 and 2011. The most recent nearby survey is from 2011, so these values predate recent heat stress. This site's own estimate (17%) is not compared with these surveys: none lies within 2 km.
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 | Musa | 2001 | 8.8%, mean of 2 surveys (3 m and 7 m) | 4.64 km |
| Reef Check | Laguna Beyru House Reef | 2011 | 12%, mean of 3 surveys (5.5 m, 8 m, and 10 m) | 3.63 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.