Photos from the Field: Red Coloration in Tropical Leaves and Reduced Fungal Pathogen Damage
Tellez, Rojas and Van Bael (2016). Red coloration in young tropical leaves associated with reduced fungal pathogen damage. Biotropica, 48: 150–153. doi: 10.1111/btp.12303
The adaptive significance of red coloration in tropical forest leaves remains unclear. In vivo assays show that there is a significant negative correlation between anthocyanin pigments in young leaves and fungal pathogen damage. This supports a previous hypothesis that anthocyanins may protect young leaves from fungal damage during the vulnerable period of leaf expansion.

Lead author Peter Tellez working from the canopy crane to access leaves. (Photo: Sunshine Van Bael).