Bleaching Response of Symbiodinium (Zooxanthellae)

The experiment examined the effects of thermal stress on zooxanthellae densities and pigment degradation using flow cytometry. Potential applications of flow cytometry techniques to coral research are disccussed. Conclusion: The importance of relative chlorophyll and β-carotene fluorescences were shown to be important in understanding the results of increased cell counts in freshly isolated zooxanthellae experimentally exposed to high temperatures (34, 36 and 38°C) over 24 hours, with ambient temperature (29°C) used as controls. The results derived from FCM were validated against fluorescence microscopy.