Fluorescent coral

Fluorescent coral

C039/0008 Rights Managed

Request low-res file

530 pixels on longest edge, unwatermarked

Request/Download high-res file

Uncompressed file size: 69.1MB

Downloadable file size: 5.6MB

Price image Pricing

Please login to use the price calculator


Caption: Coral fluorescing green underwater, photographed at night using blue coloured flashlight and a yellow filter. Blue light excites pigments within some underwater organisms such as this coral, causing them to emit a fluorescent glow. Corals harbour symbiotic algae which require light to photosynthesize and produce nutrients. It is thought that in shallower waters, the fluorescent pigments act as a sunscreen that prevents too much ultraviolet light damaging the algae. In deeper waters and lower light levels, it is thought that the fluorescent pigments absorb ultraviolet light and emit it at a wavelength which promotes photosynthesis in the symbiotic algae. Photographed in the Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.


Keywords: alga, algae, animal, anthozoa, aquatic, asia, asian, bioluminescence, bioluminescent, blue, cnidaria, color, colorful, colour, colourful, coral, coral reef, dark, diving, east, ecological, ecology, environment, environmental, fauna, fluorescence, fluorescent, fluorescing, glow, glowing, green, habitat, indonesia, invertebrate, lembeh strait, luminescent, luminous, marine, marine life, marine organism, nature, night, no-one, nobody, ocean, photopigment, photosynthesis, pigment, protection, reef, screen, sea, south, south-east, sulawesi, sun, sunscreen, symbiont, symbiosis, symbiotic, time, ultraviolet, under water, underwater, uv, water, wildlife, zooxanthellae
