Chromatic Adaptation of the Planktonic Blue-green Alga Oscillatoria redekei VAN GOOR and its Ecological Significance

Natural populations and culture strains of Oscillatoria redekei isolated from the same lakes exhibit a great variety of phycoerythrine/phycocyanine ratios even under the same growth conditions. Cytophotometric and spectrophotometric determinations of the phycoerythrine and phycocyanine contents of different strains after exposure to blue-green and orange-red light, respectively, suggested that chromatic adaptation of O. redekei takes place both at cellular and population level. This wide intraspecific diversity is considered at least one reason for competitiveness in highly eutrophic lakes.