While the absolute magnitude of nitrogen entering coastal zones has been the main focus of management efforts since it often controls the amount of phytoplankton biomass in marine systems, it is the availability, ratio relative to other nutrients, and/or form (e.g. inorganic vs organic) of nutrients, that controls algal community composition
(Smayda, 1997; Heisler et al., 2008; Koch and Gobler, 2009).