What makes a coral colorful?

By now, the chances are that you have seen corals (look up), and there is a chance that something that you have thought might be: what makes them colorful? If you did then continue reading; if you didn't "also continue reading" And since you did (or didn't) think of that then you are right to ask (or not ask) that question. Why? Because We have the answer to your (reasonable) question.

this is a Zooxanthellae or symbiotic algae

This is the Pavona Maldivensis, a colorful coral.

The three main things that make corals colorful are photosynthetic pigments (which is the natural colorant of an animal), fluorescent proteins, and non-fluorescent chomoproteins.

Corals (the colored ones) contain symbiotic algae that is called zooxanthellae, which are the ones responsible for the brown or green colors

These zooxanthellae are light sensitive, so if you put them in light they will either darken or lighten the color. The amount of darkness that it will contain will depend on the amount of light and/or darkness that it is exposed to. Corals often have several types of zooxanthelle in them (Often referred to as Clades) which may have different light preferences, probably making for different shades of colors. A pigment that is in zooxathellae is some photosynthetic pigment called Phycoerythrin, which influences a bright orange color, especially in the coral Pavona Maldivensis. And also, corals really need these zooxanthellae, because they cannot survive more than 11 days without zooxanthellae.

This is a Heliopora Coerulea

It is a thin bladed form of a blue coral.

There are also pigments that color corals that don't come from zooxanthellae but actually come from proteins. You heard me, . . proteins. But not like the proteins that you get when you eat a chicken nugget, but more like proteins that make you colorful, (what did you think that it would make corals do, triple in size?) in the way of a microscopic pigment. These pigments can make colors that include: Purple, Red, Blue, Mauve and several other colors. There are about two dozen of these in one coral (which equals 24). There are also a ton of fluorescent pigments inside corals (about 85) and these, when shown in certain light types, glow. And they glow specific colors too. These pigments make: Cyan, Green, Yellow, and Red.

This is a non-fluorescent chomoprotein.

Wonder why they call it non-fluorescent. It looks pretty fluorescent to me.

This is a fluorescent normal protein.

This is the green version of the fluorescent protein

Green Acropora Humilis.

Could Humilis be humiliating?

Magenta Stylophora Pistillata.

Pistillata sounds like the spanish word for gun, Pistola.

COral Bleaching

We need pigments!

You see dis? It's because of the lack of pigmentation. Corals really need pigments, which you could probably tell from one of the previous, where we said that they could not survive more that eleven days without these pigments, but there are other reasons too, such as the fact that these pigments protect the corals from types of stress, such as sunlight, and cold water. But dis does not happen by just stress,; It happens by the coral ejecting its pigments, effectively relieving it of a ton of protection, meaning that the coral wears down quicker.

I know what you're thinking; what does coral bleaching have to do with this? Actually coral bleaching can take the colors away from corals and there's a very low chance of them getting their color back.

To learn more about coral bleaching, go to the coral bleaching tab/ site page.

If you want another page on this site that talks about this topic, go to the Dangers They Face and/or the World Without Corals.

This is a diagram of a coral's zooxanthellae and body parts

Reminder of our pictures so far

Captions down low.

Bye, Bye! ! . . .

So now you know how corals are made colorful, in the way of zooxathellae, fluorescent proteins, and non-fluorescent chomoproteins, or more simply put: pigments, which color the corals into some very colorful colors! But remember, corals really need these. And don't think that I'm going to let you escape so easily. I'm going to send you somewhere. I am going to send you to the How to Help page (or you could just keep going and going in the normal order until you get there) so you (if you want to) can help the corals.

So go! Off you pop!

But you can stay if you want to!

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