[MCsaxmaster]

Aloha Dana,

Aloha CJ,
>>But Dana, excessive blue light is synonamous with excessively intense light, no?<<
Hmmm… No. Warmer color (red for example) is associated with the spectral signature of shallow depths (along with other wavelengths of course) where light is most intense on real reefs.

Yes, I should have said more clearly what I meant. The effects of intense blue light should be nearly synonamous with the effects of intense while light on photosynthesis. Of course this is not exactly the same as there are issues associated with transfer efficiency to the chla in the centers of photosynthesis of PSII and blue light ends up producing a bit more heat than other, lower wavelenghts, but practically speaking, once a photon is absorbed and transferred to a center of photosynthesis, the initial wavelength of that photon is immaterial.

>>Also, help me if you would to understand how that should relate to the production of coral pigments? I mean, saturated photosynthesis using white light vs. saturated using white light that is heavier on the blue end gets to the same result in terms of photosynthesis. I see no reason that the corals should produce more of any given animal pigment in response to increased blue light as compared to bright full-spectrum light.<<
Are we talking about the protective xanthophylls? Fluorescence? Chromoproteins?
The ‘Coral Coloration’ series is over 250 pages now, so please help me out by being a tad more specific.
Thanks,
Dana

Here I mean the production of any colorful coral pigment and mean to exclude zooxanthellae pigments. That would include fluorescent proteins as well as chromoproteins. If these pigments are meant as a sort of sunscreen for the zoox. I see no reason that their production should be substantially different due to a difference in light spectrum (within reason--something analagous to what we see from hobbyist bulbs). If the proteins are not involved in a process like this (e.g., GFP) I see no reason they should be affected by light spectrum whatsoever (excluding UV, for obvious reasons).

Chris