Pigment diversity in freshwater phytoplankton. II. Summer‐succession in three Dutch lakes with different trophic characteristics

Spectrophotometric and paper chromatographic analyses of chloroplast pigments in the phytoplankton have been made from early spring until the end of summer in three Dutch freshwater lakes with different trophic characteristics. Pigment ratios and carotenoid: chlorophyll‐ a ratios are inaccurate and insensitive pigment characteristics, and in the description of diversity of pigments there is no alternative to chromatographic analysis. The chromatographically purified chlorophyll‐ a fraction together with the occurrence of breakdown products of chlorophyll‐ a give valuable information on the stage of growth of phytoplankton populations. The pigment fractions fucoxanthin, peridinin, lutein and/or chlorophyll‐ b , and myxoxanthophyll can be used to indicate the contribution of the different major algal types to total phytoplankton community pigments. In this way chromatographic pigment analysis may be an important tool in the description of phytoplankton community structure, particularly when used against the background of results of microscopic phytoplankton analysis.