Reef-building corals are a vital part for the health and biodiversity of marine ecosystems. However, they are facing grave challenges from climate change. Despite the urgent need to understand the mechanism of light collection in corals, many key questions remain open largely due to the lack of techniques to measure the optical properties in live corals. Here we used a recently developed extension of OCT, Inverse Spectroscopic Optical Coherence Tomography (ISOCT), to image vast varieties of coral species, acquiring 4D cubes containing spectral information alongside 3D geometry. A full set of optical parameters that inherently linked with key optical components of coral are calculated in both coral tissue and skeleton. Using a spectroscopic OCT imaging system, our study expands current knowledge of coral physiology.
This study describes the propagation of direct and diffuse light through coral tissue and how changes in the directional quality of light affect photosynthesis. Scalar irradiance microsensors were used in vivo to measure tissue light propagation of incident collimated and diffuse irradiance. O2 microsensors were used to estimate changes in local O2 evolution. The results show that the directional quality of incident irradiance affects both coral optics and photosynthesis. Collimated irradiance is enhanced at the coral surface while diffuse irradiance is enhanced at the coral skeleton. Coral O2 evolution is enhanced under collimated compared to diffuse light. It is concluded that the directional quality of light is an important and hitherto ignored parameter in coral photosynthesis.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.