The Millepora Zone Is Back: Recent Findings from the Northernmost Region of the Maldives

Abstract

Three species of the tropical hydrocoral genus Millepora were common and abundant in the Maldives before 1998, characterizing extensive shallow reef areas known as ‘Millepora zones’. The 1998 heat wave resulted in mass mortality of all the Millepora species, the characteristic Millepora zones disappeared, and only a few observations of isolated colonies were reported in the years ahead. A recent expedition (January 2024) to the northernmost region of the Maldives (Ihavandhippolhu Atoll) revealed new Millepora zones at 7–13 m depth, suggesting a potential repopulation of a vulnerable genus considered regionally extinct.