Perhaps the most plausible suggestion as to why leaves would go to the trouble of making anthocyanins when theyre busy packing up for the winter is the theory known as the light screen hypothesis. It sounds paradoxical, because the idea behind this hypothesis is that the red pigment is made in autumn leaves to protect chlorophyll, the light-absorbing chemical, from too much light. Why does chlorophyll need protection when it is the natural worlds supreme light absorber? Why protect chlorophyll at a time when the tree is breaking it down to salvage as much of it as possible? It is likely that the red pigments help to protect the leaf from freezing temperatures. (T/F/NG) The light screen hypothesis would initially seem to contradict what is known about chlorophyll.(T/F/NG)