Can you tell how healthy a coral is? One way is to see how well they photosynthesise (yes – corals are solar-powered, thanks to algae partners living inside their tissues!)
One of the scientific instruments we use to give our corals a health check at AIMS is a diving PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulated) fluorometer. You can use them in the ocean too!
Dr Samantha Goyen studies how corals cope under heat stress, and how we might be able to help them during heatwaves on the Great Barrier Reef.
Here, Sam demonstrates the PAM in our National Sea Simulator (SeaSim) facility. Using a strong flash of light, the kit measures the photosynthesis of symbiotic algae living in the coral. The breakdown of the partnership between algae and coral is what causes coral bleaching.
Put simply, the PAM measures how happy the algae are.
🪸 Learn more about coral bleaching: https://vist.ly/5im4t
