Coral reefs are ecosystems with high biological diversity that, under anthropogenic and climatic stress, produce chemical defense compounds. Different indicators have been used to measure the health of coral systems. The concentration of total phenols could be used for this purpose due to their antioxidant response during harsh environmental conditions, although this stress indicator has received little attention. The total content of phenols, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll c1 + c2, and β-carotenes was evaluated in Pocillopora capitata corals collected at three sites of the Central Mexican Pacific under multiple stress conditions in two different seasons of the year. Total phenol content, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll c1 + c2, and β-carotene concentrations ranged from 1.49 to 4.43 μg GAE mL-1, 1.28 to 2.08 μg cm-2, 0.15 to 0.43 μg cm-2, and 0.20 to 0.77 μg cm-2, respectively. The content of total phenols and β-carotenes between seasons had statistically significant differences, where the total content of phenols and pigments tended to be higher in the rainy season (October) than in the dry season (February), as these compounds are sensitive to environmental fluctuations and may therefore serve as indicators of such changes.
