The Abundance of Fluorescent Pigments in Corals.

Introduction.

• Fluorescent objects absorb light at certain wavelengths, then re-emit it
• Fluorescent compounds may help corals survive
• May serve as a sunscreen, protecting the corals and their dinoflagellates 
• Fluorescent pigments enhance the resistance to mass bleaching

Hypothesis.

• If fluorescent pigments help protect corals during environmental stress,
• then they should be more abundant than non-fluorescent corals. 
• Null: There is no correlation between pigments and abundance

Materials & Methods.

• 15 meters from rocky shore line at low tide
• Running parallel to shore every 5 meters
• Ten 1/2 x 1/2 meter quadrants where coral was documented
• At the night's low tide, a UV light was used to distinguish corals
• In each preset quadrant, corals were found and documented

Results.

• Standard Deviation = 0.989
• Paired T-Test = 0.00679%
• Rejected the null hypothesis

Discussion.

• Fluorescent pigments protect the corals (mass bleaching)
• UV absorption can be used for photosynthesis
• Photoprotection and photoinhibition
• Errors: Quadrants & their placement, equipment, identification, algae
• Future: More samples, shading, permits

Literature Cited.

• American Museum of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. .
• Salih, Anya, et al. "Fluorescent pigments in corals are photoprotective." Nature 408 (2000): 850-53. Print.