For the local economy, this is
no doubt a good thing, but for
the reefs and their wonderful
biodiversity, it’s not necessar-
ily good news. Time will tell if
a balance is kept between the
Maldives’ ‘unspoilt paradise’
reputation and tourist devel-
opment across the 1200 or so
individual islands that make up
the entire archipelago. So far,
it’s still wonderful and many
resorts are doing what they can
to be sustainable and consider-
ate to the reefs.
To understand why the
Maldives are so impressive, its
worth looking back a little to
understand how the archi-
pelago was formed: Imagine
a chain of volcanic islands,
many millions of years ago,
rising from a ridge in the Indian
ocean. Imagine each island
with its complicated coastline
surrounded by a fringing reef
and perhaps some smaller
off shore reefs forming around
it for good measure. Add the
sound of waves breaking and
seabirds calling if it helps. Then
imagine the islands’ volcanoes
cooling down and the weather,
wind and rain eroding them to
nothing, yet the reefs, self-re-
pairing as they are, continue to
grow and prosper. Add a little
tectonic movement with the
sea fl oor lowering perhaps and
you are left with the shadow of
a landscape, picked out in living
coral. This in the very simplest
of terms is how an atoll forms.
On a large enough scale, you
can see the 12 individual atolls
that form the Maldives’ overall
structure, but move in more
closely (try it in Google Earth)
and the structures become
far more complex. Each atoll
is riven with channels that
allow the currents and tides of
the Indian ocean to wash into
central areas. You can make out
individual islands, some green
with vegetation and some mere
piles of sand that come and
go. Under the surface hints of
turquoise indicate submerged
reefs and in the lagoons, darker
patches suggest seagrassmeadows. It’s complicated,
diverse and remarkably won-
derful, with seasonal factors
such as monsoon currents from
the north and local geography
combining to add seasonality
to the mix.
To explore the Maldivian ecol-
ogy in a short article means I’m
only able to look at the simplestand most obvious features, but
I hope it is of interest nonethe-
less.
I’ll start on shore. As you can
imagine the terrestrial ecology
of the Maldives is somewhat
limited. There’s not much space
after all and very little fresh
water in the dry season. Be-
yond a few species of migratoryseabird and fruit bats the skies
are empty and the plant ‘list’
is also quite short it appears,
though Coconut palms, Fan
Flowers and Beach Hibiscus are
common. For me though, it’s
on the beach where things start
to get interesting, various crabs
and hermits are commonplace
and a walk along the beach(^36) http://www.ultramarinemagazine.co.uk
The edge of an atoll. You can see just how many individual habitats there are.
A typical uninhabited Maldivian island, never more than a few metres above sea level.
These tough critters can survive heat, salt and sand.
They are at risk from becoming trapped in discarded
plastic bottles.
Being close to sharks is a privilege. These are NOT
dangerous.