Using reflectance to measure chlorophyll a in corals: calibration and implications of skeletal optical properties

Climate change-driven coral bleaching and associated chlorophyll (Chl) loss increasingly threaten coral reefs, highlighting the need for non-invasive, cost-effective tools to assess corals' physiological condition. Researchers have explored the reflectance-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a proxy for Chl a. However, almost no calibration curves exist to date; thus it remains unknown if the relationship between Chl a and NDVI differs among coral species, and whether it is influenced by skeletal optical properties. Here, we correlated Chl a content to NDVI in three coral species with different skeletal morphologies and reflectance modes across a range of health states (i.e., bleaching states). We found a strong positive relationship between Chl a and NDVI in all species, validating NDVI as a proxy for Chl a in corals. However, this relationship is non-linear, showing deviations at the highest and lowest ends of the pigmentation spectrum. We propose that in healthy states, this non-linearity is due to pigment self-shading, whereas in bleaching states, it is caused by backscattering of light by the increasingly exposed coral skeleton, because pigment loss enhances absorption by the remaining Chl a pigments and lowers, rather than increases, reflectance. To avoid Chl a under- or overestimation, we recommend to log-transform Chl a and create species-specific calibration curves. Overall, the non-invasive, repeatable, and scalable nature of reflectance measurements and NDVI make them valuable tools for assessing coral health both ex- and in situ. They provide a comprehensive view of the holobiont's physiological condition and hold potential for broader applications in reef-scale monitoring, remote sensing, coral restoration, and conservation.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00338-026-02831-0.