g on boulders in the Asko area ( Wallin et al 2011), on ascidia

g. on boulders in the Asko area ( Wallin et al. 2011), on ascidians in Gullmar Raf inhibitor Fjord, Skagerrak ( Johansson et al. 1998) or on barnacles Balanus improvisus off the island of Rügen, where they formed small mat-like patches up to 3 cm in diameter ( Rathsack-Künzenbach 1961). Rose-pink trichomes

of Spirulina rosea Crouan were found on experimental colonisation plates deployed in the Gulf of Gdańsk at locations close to Gdynia and Gdańsk ( Dziubińska & Janas 2007) and Hel ( Dziubińska & Szaniawska 2010). Spirulina major Kützig was recorded in the southern Baltic and in Puck Bay ( Pliński, 1975 and Ringer, 1984). Solitary blue-green trichomes of S. subsalsa were noted earlier in Puck Bay ( Witkowski 1993). Our observations were made in mid-November, when the sun was relatively low above the horizon (solar elevation angle at noon – 17°) and the day length did not exceed 9 hours. After a few days in the laboratory at a photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) of 10 μE m− 2 s− 1, red trichomes of S. subsalsa started to change colour to blue-green. Such a change in colour is possible as cyanobacteria have a wide range of pigment compounds, including carotenoids, chlorophyll and

phycobiliproteins (red phycoerythrin and blue phycocyanin). Chromatic acclimation in cyanobacteria, i.e. their ability to adapt to changing characteristics see more of the spectral distribution of ambient light, was described e.g. by Gutu & Kehoe (2012). Indeed, because of the optical properties of seawater, cells at the surface and in deeper parts of the water column experience different light conditions in terms of both the amount (intensity) and quality (colour) of light resources. Dera & Woźniak (2010) showed that already at a depth of 6 m in the Baltic Sea the spectrum of PAR irradiance becomes narrower, as the long waves are attenuated by water molecules; the mean daily dose of downward irradiance in PAR also decreases dramatically with water depth: in November it is 10 times lower at 8 m depth than at the water surface. Spirulina can Dichloromethane dehalogenase react to such differences

in light conditions by changing its pigment compound composition and increasing or decreasing the proportion of phycobiliproteins. It is worth noting that all the observations of red Spirulina reported here were made in autumn (from mid-September to mid-November). Dziubińska & Janas (2007) and Dziubińska & Szaniawska (2010) studied the seasonality in composition of fouling communities on experimental plates deployed at three sites in the Gulf of Gdańsk. In spring and summer Spirulina was not present on any of them. It appeared on the plates only in autumn, i.e. September or October, depending on the site and year. The autumnal development of mats of phycoerythrin-rich S. subsalsa in this area is possible as a result of chromatic adaptation (also responsible for the red colour of trichomes).

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