Strong coral recovery indicates reefs in Laamu Atoll, Maldives, remain resilient following mass bleaching

Mass coral bleaching events linked to climate change are a major contributor to the global degradation of coral reefs. Recovery largely depends on the growth of survivors and successful coral recruitment; however, recruitment is highly variable and influenced by many factors. This study quantified the size structure of coral communities within Laamu Atoll, in southern Maldives, using colonies < 5 cm in diameter as a proxy for recent coral recruitment. Corals were surveyed using 0.25 m 2 photoquadrats and in-situ counts across four reef types (i.e., inner, outer, channel, and giri), three reef zones (i.e., reef flat, slope, and patch reef), four depths (i.e., 1 m, 5 m, 10 m, and 15 m), and, where relevant, the human habitation status (i.e., inhabited, uninhabited, or no island) of an adjacent island. Results showed consistent densities of small colonies across study sites around the atoll, averaging 4.8 ± 0.1 colonies/0.25 m 2 . There were similar densities of medium (5–15 cm) and large (>15 cm) coral colonies, at 4.0 ± 0.1 and 3.1 ± 0.1 colonies/0.25 m², respectively. Results suggest substantial coral recovery in Laamu six years after the 2016 bleaching event. Only reef zone and depth had a strong influence on small coral densities. High generic diversity was recorded within quadrats, with 52 of the 57 recorded genera present, 50 of which were represented among small colonies. As reefs at our study sites in Laamu Atoll recovered well from the 2016 bleaching event, they can be considered relatively resilient to heat stress for the time being.