Surveys of benthic community composition were conducted to assess habitat differences inside and outside of each MPA border and the relationship between coral cover and Acanthaster displacement at each border. Surveys used 40 m point intercept transects (n = 20 transects border-1 MPA-1, points at 0.5 m intervals, 1,600 points border -1) that were non-overlapping (mean distance between transects = ~12 m) and oriented parallel to the coastline, with the midpoint (20 m) of each transect positioned on the MPA border (20 m within the MPA and 20 m within the fished area).