The basalt blocks were characterized by significantly shallower depths (nested ANOVA, p b 0.001), higher percentages of coral cover (p= 0.016), and lower proportions of soft substrate (p= 0.028) than the drop-offs (Table 1). The area outside VEwas distinguished by significantly longer distances to the most recent lava flow (p b 0.001), older ages (p b 0.001), higher percentages of coral cover (p = 0.001), and a wider insular shelf (p b 0.001) than the area inside VE. Only the percentages of coral cover showed significantly different values between geomorphologies and locations. Thus, corals seemed to grow well on basalt blocks outside VE. In contrast, algal cover and rugosity showed no significant differences among underwater landscapes (p N 0.05).