<![CDATA[Coral reefs are highly diverse tropical marine ecosystems that provide important habitats for marine biota. This study aimed to classify coral communities based on coral taxa and growth forms and to assess the similarity between the coral communities of Kaledupa and Tomia Islands. Field surveys were conducted from December 2025 to January 2026 at six stations within SPTN III Wakatobi National Park, Southeast Sulawesi, at depths of 5 and 10 m. Data were collected using the Underwater Photo Transect method. Underwater images were examined based on visible colony morphology to record coral taxa, growth forms, and colony abundance. Community similarity was quantified using the Morisita similarity index. Fourteen growth-form categories were recorded. Kaledupa had 1,468 colonies and was dominated by Coral Massive (641 colonies; 43.66%), whereas Tomia had 1,798 colonies and was dominated by Coral Foliose (326 colonies; 18.13%). Kaledupa contained 108 taxa, with Goniopora pandoraensis as the most abundant taxon (104 colonies), while Tomia contained 124 taxa, dominated by Porites cylindrica (165 colonies). In total, 179 taxa were recorded, 53 of which occurred on both islands. The Morisita index was 0.338, indicating low similarity in taxonomic composition and colony abundance between the two communities. These results show that coral community structure differed between Kaledupa and Tomia despite their location within the same national park management unit.]]>
