Relative Pigment Composition and Remote Sensing Reflectance of Caribbean Shallow-Water Corals.

ABSTRACT: Reef corals typically contain a number of pigments, mostly due to their symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellates. These pigments usually vary in presence and concentration and influence the spectral characteristics of corals. We studied the variations in pigment composition among seven Caribbean shallow-water Scleractinian corals by means of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis to further resolve the discrimination of corals. We found a total of 27 different pigments among the coral species, including some alteration products of the main pigments. Additionally, pigments typically found in endolithic algae were also identified. A Principal Components Analysis and a Hierarchical Cluster Analysis showed the separation of coral species based on pigment compo

SUBMITTER: Torres-Perez JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4664284 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature