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Fluorescent Coral. Many corals are intensely fluorescent under certain light wavelengths. In particular, shallow water reef-building corals that fluoresce seem to be more resistant to coral bleaching than other corals, and the higher the density of flurorescent pigments, the more likely to resist. Corals that grow in deeper water, where light is scarce, are using fluorescence to absorb UV light and reflect it back to the zooxanthallae. May 25, 2013. (Kike Calvo via AP Images)