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Expedition 2007 | Madoogali 2010 |






Results of the Expedtion to the Maldives 2007

Key Findings ([modified] extracted from the Report to the Marine Research Centre, Maldives)

Corals in the Central Atolls of the Maldives have not [really] recovered after the mass-bleaching in 1997/98. In March 2007 the average coral cover of the surveyed reef-sites was only half of that before the bleaching. The average coral cover of 13 surveyed reefs was 36%. Coral cover was highest on the reef-top of Kandholhudhoo, Ari Atoll with 73%. The majority of the reef sites (69%) registered coral covers of less than 50%. Net reef growth must be considered negative, if stony coral cover is below 50%.





Coral cover and abundance of species showed variations between geographic locations. Three out of four reefs located near the eastern margins of the central Atolls showed heavily degraded coral communities. All together 10% of the reef-sites, such as Halaveli and Gulhi had heavily degraded coral communities, with less than 10% coral cover. Heavily degraded reefs may have suffered an ecological phase shift. Recovery - rise to a higher ecological level - of such heavily degraded reefs
map survey sites expedition maldives 2007
  Surveyed Reef during the Expedition Maldives 2007,
  © Riffschutz-Malediven e.V.


 

will demand very much energy (time), if no unusual high recruitment occurs.
Recruits were present at all reef-sites. Coral recruitment is crucial for reef regeneration. The average number of coral recruits is sufficient. Recruits comprised 50% of encrusting Pavona-recruits. Only a fraction of 20% of Acropora-recruits was observed. This is important because the genus Acropora is a dominant structuring corals in many Maldivian reefs. Differences in recruitment could be explained with different recruitment strategies, recruitment success and pre-bleaching coral community differences.
Surveyed reef-sites with good coral cover showed obvious differences between Atolls regarding the dominant stony coral species. Branching Acropora-corals were dominant in the Ari-Atoll in good reef-sites with coral cover above 50% while Porites rus dominated good reef-sites in the North and South Male Atoll.
Coral reefs of the Maldives are still recovering from the 1997/98 coral bleaching.


benthic community Maldives 2007
Benthic community structure at reef-sites, Expedition Maldives 2007


The report "A First General Presentation of the Benthic Community Structure of 13 reef sites in the Central Maldivian Atolls" to the Marine Research Centre, Maldives is available upon request. Please contact us.

Please refer to the publications (in German) for work produced from findings during the Expedition 2007.

 












































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