Baseline assessment of coral reefs of North Ari is the first study to investigate spatial variation in reef condition within the context of different human pressures in one atoll in the Maldives. Specifically, this study aimed to investigate whether and how coral reef condition (fish biomass, structural complexity, coral composition and live cover, and foraminiferal assemblages) vary spatially among reefs with different population levels and/or under different management regimes within North Ari atoll.