ABSTRACT
Pigmented microalgae are pivotal organisms in marine aquatic systems, ranging from clear open-ocean waters to turbid sediment-laden coastal waters. Indeed, these pigmented organisms (only 1% of the total plant biomass on earth) are primarily responsible for approximately 40% of global photosynthesis (Falkowski and Raven, 1997). Their productivity is of increased interest in times of global warming, due to their ability to take up CO2, making their accurate determination in the world’s aquatic systems a priority. Light drives the photosynthetic reaction and pigments are required by the organisms to absorb the light. These pigments, particularly chlorophyll a, are used as chemical markers for the microalgae, and thus their accurate determination is imperative.
