Why are corals colourful? Corals are renowned for their spectacular colouration. The proteins responsible for this vivid pigmentation are found in most shallow water corals and provide hues ranging from blue to green to red.
Theories about the function of these proteins date back to the early part of the last century, however, their function remains unclear.
This talk by Ed Smith will explore key questions relating to coral pigmentation: What makes corals colourful? Why is it important? What function do the pigment proteins perform? And, what can these pigments tell us about coral health?
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Speaker information: Ed Smith is a 4th year PhD student from the University of Southampton and is based in the Coral Reef Laboratory (http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/corals/) at the National Oceanography Centre. His research focuses on elucidating the function of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like proteins in reef building corals and the applications of these proteins to reef monitoring. He has a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology with Oceanography from the University of Southampton and a MSc in Remote Sensing from University College London.
The Marine Life Talks are held on the first Thursday of the month at 19.30 at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, and are open to the public, staff and students. Please arrive at 19.15 to be met in Reception. Arrangements for wheelchairs must be made in advance.
The National Oceanography Centre Southampton is reached via Dock Gate 4 (between Southampton’s Town Quay and Ocean Village).
Further information: http://noc.ac.uk/news/marine-life-talks
Contact: +44 (0)23 8059 6666