{"id":364312,"date":"2026-06-04T16:44:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=364312"},"modified":"2026-06-04T16:44:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:14:57","slug":"potato-patch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/potato-patch\/","title":{"rendered":"Potato Patch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-box-green\">\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Researchers have documented the \u201cPotato Patch\u201d near Kadmat Island, which could be the world\u2019s largest known living coral colony.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\"><strong>About Potato Patch<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_364315\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-364315\" style=\"width: 383px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-364315\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Source-DTE-1.jpg?resize=383%2C217&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Potato Patch\" width=\"383\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Source-DTE-1.jpg?resize=300%2C170&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Source-DTE-1.jpg?w=711&amp;ssl=1 711w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 383px) 100vw, 383px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-364315\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; DTE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Potato Patch<\/strong>\u00a0 is a <strong>continuous meadow-like coral colony<\/strong> of the <strong>species Pavona clavus (potato coral).<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\u00a0The colony is located in the <strong>south-eastern waters of Kadmat Island in the Lakshadweep archipelago.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Formation Process:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Continuous Coral Growth:<\/strong> The coral colony formed through <strong>centuries of calcium carbonate deposition by coral polyps<\/strong> and is preliminarily <strong>estimated to be 700\u20131,800 years old<\/strong>, although its age is yet to be scientifically confirmed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adaptation to Wave Action:<\/strong> The colony <strong>developed thick calcareous columns on a steep reef slope<\/strong>, which helped it withstand strong wave action, ocean currents, and tropical cyclones over time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Features:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Depth Range:<\/strong> The coral formation begins on a reef flat <strong>at a depth of 5.2 m<\/strong> and extends down a <strong>steep slope to about 20 metres.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Area<\/strong>: The coral colony <strong>covers about 4,250 sq. m <\/strong>and appears to be the <strong>largest known living Pavona clavus colony documented so far.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Relatively Healthy Condition:<\/strong> Surveys found that <strong>58.47% of the coral tissue remains alive,<\/strong> indicating a relatively healthy state while continuing to support diverse fish assemblages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scientific and Ecological Value:<\/strong> The colony functions as a <strong>natural time capsule for studying coral longevity, reef resilience, climate adaptation, and past ocean conditions,<\/strong> while highlighting Lakshadweep as a <strong>possible refuge for long-lived coral colonies.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threats<\/strong>: The colony faces risks from repeated <strong>tropical cyclones<\/strong>, major <strong>El Ni\u00f1o events<\/strong>, prolonged <strong>bleaching<\/strong> episodes, and <strong>marine heatwaves<\/strong>, which can increase coral mortality and reduce live coral cover.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: Researchers have documented the \u201cPotato Patch\u201d near Kadmat Island, which could be the world\u2019s largest known living coral colony. About Potato Patch Potato Patch\u00a0 is a continuous meadow-like coral colony of the species Pavona clavus (potato coral). Location:\u00a0The colony is located in the south-eastern waters of Kadmat Island in the Lakshadweep archipelago. Formation Process:&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/potato-patch\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Potato Patch<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,12039],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-364312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364312\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}