DOMINANT CHLOROPHYLLS AND CAROTENOIDS IN MACROALGAE OF THE BALTIC SEA(BALTIC PROPER) - THEIR USE AS POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS

Plant pigments extracted from eleven different macroalgae from the Bal tic proper were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Distinct pigment ratios found in the Phaeophyceae, Chlorophyce ae, and Rhodophyceae may provide useful markers to differentiate betwe en macroalgal versus planktonic inputs to subtidal regions of the Balt ic. Fucoxanthin/chlorophyll-alpha (Chi-alpha) ratios in Phaeophyceae r anged from 0.34 to 0.64 compared to values typically greater than 1.00 in fucoxanthin containing phytoplankton. Similarly, the Chlorophyceae had Chl-b/a ratios that ranged from 0.20 to 0.30 while that typically found in single-celled chlorophytes is 0.9. Although we were not able to resolve dominant phycobilin pigments in the Rhodophyceae using thi s HPLC method, the zeaxanthin/Chl-alpha ratio may prove useful in dist inguishing between phytoplankton inputs. Finally, the higher concentra tions of the photoprotectant pigment beta,beta-carotene in the gametic versus vegetative tissues of the brown algae Fucus vesiculosus may su ggest that this plant has evolved a mechanism for protecting its genet ic material from UV radiation while growing at the surface. Pigment ra tios of these macroalgae may prove extremely useful in distinguishing between macroalgal versus planktonic inputs to the benthic communities of the Baltic Sea.