They can change color, depending on the environmental conditions they encounter, and they can also become white or translucent when stressed. Hence, for colorful corals, color is an important indicator of the health of the coral.
The colors found in colorful corals are mostly due to three things — photosynthetic pigments, fluorescent proteins and non-fluorescent chromoproteins. The chlorophyll is responsible for the brown or green coloration. The zooxanthellae are light sensitive, increasing or decreasing based on available light intensities, and as a result becoming darker or lighter. Chlorophyll can also fluoresce a deep red color under special circumstances.
Phycoerythrin, another photosynthetic pigment found in zooxanthellae, fluoresces a bright orange color. This is visible in the day, especially in a branching coral called Pavona maldivensis.
These pigments can appear red, purple, blue, mauve or other colors. There are about two dozen chromoproteins found in colorful corals. There are also more than 85 fluorescent pigments that are produced by colorful corals. These proteins absorb light of one color wavelength and emit fluoresce a different lower energy wavelength color.
These pigments are usually cyan, green, yellow or red, and will glow when viewed with certain types of lights. The pigments are thought to play a major role in the health and resilience of the corals, and how well the corals are able to interact with their environment. For instance, pigments may help protect the coral from damaging sunlight, or other forms of stress. When the zooxanthellae cells use light to produce large organic compounds, oxygen is also released. The brighter the color of the coral, the more photosynthesis and oxygen production.
Corals can decrease or increase the chlorophyll production from the zooxanthellae cells, depending on environmental requirements. They can also expel zooxanthellae when under stress. So, what does this mean? Essentially, the number of zooxanthellae and the amount of chlorophyll affect coral coloration.
Because zooxanthellae cells range in color from a golden-yellow to brown, and when there is a large number of zooxanthellae cells present the coral color appears brown, it suggests that the light intensity affects the number of zooxanthellae and the amount of chlorophyll.
Corals are home to different types, or clades of zooxanthellae, that vary in light intensity sensitivity and temperature.
While zooxanthellae color can range from a golden-yellow to a brown pigment, zooxanthellae can also fluoresce deep red color under certain circumstances. In addition, there are about 85 more fluorescent pigment colors produced by colorful corals, typically cyan, green, yellow, and red , and they can even glow in the right lighting! These proteins absorb light of one color wavelength and emit fluoresce a different lower energy wavelength color. There are also other pigments produced by the coral called chromoproteins , they are non-fluorescent, or reflective, and there are about 24 chromoproteins found in corals.
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