Previous studies have provided evidence that color measurements enable on site quantification of superficial biofilms, thereby avoiding the need for sampling. In the present study, the efficiency of color measurements to evaluate to what extent pigment production is affected by environmental parameters such as light intensity, combined nitrogen and nutrient availability, was tested with two cyanobacteria, Nostoc sp. strains PCC 9104 and PCC 9025, which form biofilms on stone. Both strains were acclimated, in aerated batch cultures for 2 weeks, to three different culture media: BG-11, BG-11(0), and BG-11(0)/10 at either high or low light intensity. The content of chlorophyll a, carotenoids, and phycocyanins was measured throughout the experiment, together with variations in the color of the cyanobacteria, which were represented in the CIELAB color space. The results confirmed that the CIELAB color parameters are correlated with pigment content in such a way that variations in the latter are reflected as variations in color.

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Although the color of cyanobacteria is a very informative characteristic, no standardized protocol has, so far, been established for defining the color in an objective way, and, therefore, direct comparison of experimental results obtained by different research groups is not possible. In the present study, we used colorimetric measurements and conventional statistical tools to determine the effects on the measurement of the color of cyanobacteria, of the concentration of the microorganisms and their moisture content, as well as of the size of the target area and the minimum number of measurements. It was concluded that the color measurement is affected by every factor studied, but that this can be controlled for by making at least 10 consecutive measurements/9.62 cm(2) at different randomly selected points on the surface of filters completely covered by films of cyanobacteria in which the moisture contents are higher than 50%.

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