A coral from the South of the Maldives ๐ฒ๐ป. A ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ด sp. between 5 and 10m in diameter, sitting at a depth of 7m and showed signs of bleaching when it was reported at the end of April by theย @maldivesunderwaterinitiativeย team atย @sixsenseslaamu . The colony was found during an expedition from the Northern part of Laamu Atoll, it would be interesting to have long-term monitoring on it!
This giant Porites sp. has been measured and reported by @cococaresmv Marine Biologists Lauren Kennedy.
The colony is a ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ด sp., measuring ~5.2m in length and 2m in width and sitting at a depth of 6m. Although it presents a few dead portions, the colony is overall in good shape with over 75% alive tissue.
Many corals have been located in the past weeks, stay tuned for more!
There are many ways corals contribute to biodiversity and here is one. This giant Porites sp. measured and reported byย @cococaresmvย is not only special because of its size, but it is also dear to Manta Rays that use it as a cleaning station.
Corals are organisms capable of living incredibly long lives and are home to many other organisms thriving within, on, and in the middle of their structures.
This colony was found at 19.5m and measures 8.5 m in length. In the last few weeks, it showed signs of bleaching but we are hopeful that given its depth, it will make it, as it must have already done in the pastโฆ
The South of the Maldives certainly still harbors a lot of secrets, and the Maldives Underwater Initiative Team is out there looking for Giant Corals. Here comes a report of a Giant ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ด sp. from the reefs near Laamu Hithadhoo. The colony sits at a depth of approximately 22 meters and measures around 12 meters in diameter and 3 meters in height. Maahil Ahmed, a coral researcher from the MUI team, has also been able to provide a 3D reconstruction of the colony, which proves incredibly valuable to assess changes to the coral, especially considering the current bleaching event.
Thank you MUI team for your efforts!
