The COI-COII IGS phylogeny recovered 5 well supported clades, which did not tally with the cladogram based on morphological characters. To ascertain morphological classification, the longest non-coding region of the mitochondrial COI-COII intergenic spacer (IGS) (consisting of 122 nucleotides) was used to construct a molecular phylogeny that included 21 species of octocorals.
41 different species showed dissimilar characteristics, and results grouped the colonies to three different families 32 colonies of Alcyoniidae, 3 of Nephtheidae and 6 of Xeniidae were obtained. The morphological identification process was based on the external form and colouration, type of colony growth the type of polyps and colonies and sclerites analysis. Identification was carried out using both morphological characters and a DNA-based marker. Of the sites monitored for soft coral occurrence, the highest Margalef richness index and Shannon index (H’) values were obtained at Port Mathurin for Rodrigues Island and at Les Salines for Mauritius. Triplicates of 5-metreline transect were used to survey soft corals at twelve different monitoring sites. Seven soft corals species are newly reported from Mauritian waters. This study aims to assess the soft corals community around Mauritius and Rodrigues Island due to the limited research on the abundance and diversity of soft corals in the area.