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. 2014 Mar 21;9(3):e92781.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092781. eCollection 2014.

Red light represses the photophysiology of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

Tim Wijgerde  1 , Anne van Melis  1 , Catarina I F Silva  2 , Miguel C Leal  3 , Luc Vogels  4 , Claudia Mutter  4 , Ronald Osinga  1
Affiliations

Red light represses the photophysiology of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

Tim Wijgerde et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Light spectrum plays a key role in the biology of symbiotic corals, with blue light resulting in higher coral growth, zooxanthellae density, chlorophyll a content and photosynthesis rates as compared to red light. However, it is still unclear whether these physiological processes are blue-enhanced or red-repressed. This study investigated the individual and combined effects of blue and red light on the health, zooxanthellae density, photophysiology and colouration of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata over 6 weeks. Coral fragments were exposed to blue, red, and combined 50/50% blue red light, at two irradiance levels (128 and 256 μmol m(-2) s(-1)). Light spectrum affected the health/survival, zooxanthellae density, and NDVI (a proxy for chlorophyll a content) of S. pistillata. Blue light resulted in highest survival rates, whereas red light resulted in low survival at 256 μmol m(-2) s(-1). Blue light also resulted in higher zooxanthellae densities compared to red light at 256 μmol m(-2) s(-1), and a higher NDVI compared to red and combined blue red light. Overall, our results suggest that red light negatively affects the health, survival, symbiont density and NDVI of S. pistillata, with a dominance of red over blue light for NDVI.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: LV and CM are employed by Philips Lighting, BG LS&E LED Platform Development, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and supplied the LED fixtures used in this study. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Spectral analysis of the LED and T5 fixtures used for the experiment, representative for both irradiance levels used.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Coral health and survival under various experimental conditions (blue, red, 50/50% blue red and white light at an irradiance of 128/256 μmol m−2 s−1) over a time course of 6 weeks (N = 10).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Zooxanthellae density under various experimental conditions (blue, red, 50/50% blue red and white light at an irradiance of 128/256 μmol m−2 s−1) after week 6.
Values are means + s.d. (N = 4). **Indicates significant difference (P<0.010).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Maximum quantum yield of corals under various experimental conditions (blue, red, 50/50% blue red and white light at an irradiance of 128/256 μmol m−2 s−1) over a time course of 6 weeks.
Values are means + s.d. (N = 1-10). *Indicates significant difference (P<0.050), **(P<0.010).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of corals under various experimental conditions (blue, red, 50/50% blue red and white light at an irradiance of 128/256 μmol m−2 s−1) over a time course of 6 weeks.
Values are means + s.d. (N = 1-10). *Indicates significant difference (P<0.050), **(P<0.010).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Coral reflectance under various experimental conditions (blue, red, 50/50% blue red and white light at an irradiance of 128/256 μmol m−2 s−1) over a time course of 6 weeks.
Values are means (N = 1-10).
Figure 7
Figure 7. Close-up images of corals grown under various experimental conditions (blue, red, 50/50% blue red and white light at an irradiance of 128/256 μmol m−2 s−1) after week 6.
Scale bars: 1 mm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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