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Volume 24, Number 21
02 November 2005

pp 3681-3829

Photoprotection � is an important issue for anthozoan polyps, as high levels of light can cause photodamage and photoinhibition of symbionts. Shallow water anthozoans have evolved effective mechanisms for light acclimation and adaptation by expressing various GFP-like fluorescent proteins and chromoproteins. In this image of Heteractis crispa (Ehrenberg, 1834), a sea anemone of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, the photoprotective pigments are responsible for the pink colour of the polyp�s tentacles. The picture was captured near Ellaidhoo, a small island within the Ari atoll (Maldives) with a Nikonos RS/50mm macro lens on Kodak Elitechrome 100 ASA colour slide film. The photographer, Wolfgang Seifarth, is a molecular biologist at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where he studies the importance of endogenous retroviral elements (HERV) in the human genome. Wolfgang Seifarth also has a strong interest in marine biology field research and taxonomy, and underwater photography.

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