Coral reefs of Lakshadweep perform a range of vital ecosystem functions and sustain the livelihoods of island communities. Coral reefs provide ecosystem services that are vital to human societies and industries through fisheries, coastal protection and tourism. The present study was undertaken during September and October 2015 to assess the status of reef health in 10 inhabited Islands of Lakshadweep following reef classification to imply conservation measures and also for the sustainable management by the dependent communities. Live coral cover, habitat complexity index, coral species richness, reef condition index, mortality index, morphological dominance, morphological diversity and coral conservation class were used to get an aggregate value of ‘composite condition’ index for determining the overall conservation values of coral reefs in these Islands. Kadmat reef had the highest live coral cover of 64.50% among the 10 inhabited islands. Bitra and Kiltan reef had good live coral cover of 62.75 and 52.25% respectively. The major benthic component in all the studied islands is live coral except in Amini and Andrott Islands. The recovery of corals has increased significantly in the last 5 years in Kadmat, Bitra, Kiltan and Bangarm after the 2010 mass bleaching event. Among the eight attributes, significant positive correlations were found between coral reef condition and live coral cover (r = 0.93, p < 0.05), between coral species richness and coral reef condition (r = 0.69, p < 0.05), between habitat complexity and morphological dominance (r = 0.68, p < 0.05) and between habitat complexity and conservation class (r = 0.72, p < 0.05). Coral morphologies (traits) were considered to determine the structural complexity of reefs. Based on r-K-S ternary diagram, coral morphology classification conservation class 1 (CC1) was assigned to the reef sites in Amini, Bitra and Chetlat which had > 60% of stress tolerators. CC3 was assigned to Bangaram and Kadmat due to the presence of > 75% of ruderals. Mixed coral morphology was recorded in Agatti, Andrott, Kalpeni, Kavaratti, and Kiltan with approximately equal proportions of ruderals, competitors and stress tolerators, and these coral reefs were designated as CC4. Protection and conservation management measures, as well as sustainable resource use, have been suggested based on the live coral cover, conservation class, and coral reef health status.

Lakshadweep的珊瑚礁执行一系列重要的生态系统功能，并维持岛屿社区的生计。珊瑚礁通过渔业，沿海保护和旅游业提供了对人类社会和产业至关重要的生态系统服务。本研究于2015年9月和2015年10月进行，目的是评估礁石分类后10个有人居住的拉克沙德普普群岛的礁石健康状况，这意味着采取了保护措施，并进行了受养社区的可持续管理。活珊瑚覆盖率，栖息地复杂性指数，珊瑚物种丰富度，礁石状况指数，死亡率指数，形态优势度，形态多样性和珊瑚保护类别被用来获得“综合条件”指数的总值，以确定这些岛屿中珊瑚礁的总体保护价值。在10个有人居住的岛屿中，卡德玛礁的活珊瑚覆盖率最高，为64.50％。Bitra和Kiltan礁的活珊瑚覆盖率分别为62.75和52.25％。除阿米尼岛和安德罗特群岛外，所有研究岛屿中底栖生物的主要成分是活珊瑚。在2010年大规模漂白事件发生后的最近5年里，在Kadmat，Bitra，Kiltan和Bangarm，珊瑚的恢复显着增加。在这八种属性中，珊瑚礁状况与活珊瑚覆盖率之间存在显着的正相关关系（Bitra和Kiltan礁的活珊瑚覆盖率分别为62.75和52.25％。除阿米尼岛和安德罗特群岛外，所有研究岛屿中底栖生物的主要成分是活珊瑚。在2010年大规模漂白事件发生后的最近5年里，在Kadmat，Bitra，Kiltan和Bangarm，珊瑚的恢复显着增加。在这八种属性中，珊瑚礁状况与活珊瑚覆盖率之间存在显着的正相关关系（Bitra和Kiltan礁的活珊瑚覆盖率分别为62.75和52.25％。除阿米尼岛和安德罗特群岛外，所有研究岛屿中底栖生物的主要成分是活珊瑚。在2010年大规模漂白事件发生后的最近5年里，在Kadmat，Bitra，Kiltan和Bangarm，珊瑚的恢复显着增加。在这八种属性中，珊瑚礁状况与活珊瑚覆盖率之间存在显着的正相关关系（r  = 0.93，p  <0.05），在珊瑚物种丰富度和珊瑚礁状况之间（r  = 0.69，p  <0.05），在栖息地复杂度和形态优势之间（r  = 0.68，p  <0.05）和在栖息地复杂度和保护等级之间（r = 0.68，p <0.05）r  = 0.72，p <0.05）。珊瑚的形态（特征）被认为可以确定珊瑚礁的结构复杂性。根据rKS三元图，将珊瑚形态分类保存等级1（CC1）分配给了Amini，Bitra和Chetlat的珊瑚礁场所，这些地区的耐压性均大于60％。由于存在超过75％的m葬品，CC3被分配给了Bangaram和Kadmat。在Agatti，Andrott，Kalpeni，Kavaratti和Kiltan中记录到混合的珊瑚形态，其石，竞争者和压力承受者的比例大致相等，这些珊瑚礁被指定为CC4。根据活珊瑚覆盖率，保护级别和珊瑚礁健康状况，提出了保护和养护管理措施以及资源的可持续利用。