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Coral species: Acropora sp.

This line is to thank Mr Le Beche for donating to the Gili SEAS Fund during his stay with us at Gili Lankanfushi.

The mortality seen at 9 months was a consequence of the El nino induced coral bleaching that affected coral reefs in Maldives during April/May 2016. Although 40% of fragments were lost during the warming event, the surviving fragments continued to grow well.

Update 2023: The remaining colonies of this line were left to grow for a number of years and were transplanted in February, 2023. Due to the fact that these corals survived the 2016 mass bleaching event, this was an important line to transplant back onto the reef as they have shown increased resilience to environmental stress factors. The corals, which reached more than 30 cm in diameter, are now an integral part of an ecosystem that provides essential functions such as food and habitat for Maldives’ diverse marine life.