Environmental conditions exert a strong influence
upon the pigment composition of many algae
(Halldal, 1970) . Complementary chromatic adaptation
is a spectacular response of some blue-green
and red algae to alterations in the energy distribution
in the visible light environment . As a consequence
of this phenomenon, the pigment which
absorbs the incident wavelengths of light most
strongly becomes predominant . Gaidukov (1902)
first described complementary chromatic adaptation
in blue-green algae . He observed that Oscillatoria
sancta assumed a red coloration after growth
under green light and a blue-green tint after
growth under orange light . Gaidukov (1902)
ascribed these color variations to the synthesis of
different kinds of pigments . Kylin (1912) and
Boresch (1919, 1921), further, correctly perceived
that such color changes in blue-green algae are
primarily a specific consequence of alterations in
the relative proportions of the red and blue phycobiliprotein
constituents . The demonstration that
phycobiliproteins function as accessory pigments
(Engelmann, 1883 ; Emerson and Lewis, 1942 ;
Haxo and Blinks, 1950 ; Duysens, 1951 ; French and
Young, 1952) provided a rationale for complementary
chromatic adaptation : alterations in the levels
of these chromoproteins permitted maximal utilization
of the available light energy for photosynthetic
purposes .