In the temperate haptophyceaen Pavlova luíheri (Droop) Green and Pavlova sp. (not yet estimated) the dominant pigments were chlorophyll (Chl) a (57 %), fucoxanthin (17 %) and diadinoxanthin (13 %); other estimated pigments were p-carotene, Chl c, cA-fucoxanthin and diatoxanthin. UV-A of 1.7 W m-2 had no effect on pigmentation of P. luíheri, but led to a reduction of the pigment contents of Pavlova sp. The damaging effect of a high UV-A dose (11.0 W m'^) was more pronounced than that of UV-B irradiance. The strongest reduction of pigment concentrations of both Pavlova species was observed after an exposure to UV-A (11.0 W m'^) plus UV-B (1.2 W m-2). Under this combined irradiation an increase of the diatoxanthin content and a decrease of the diadinoxanthin content was found.