ABSTRACT
It has been estimated that over 400 water bodies worldwide are experiencing problems with eutrophication (Selman and Greenhalgh 2009), which is an excess of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) that cause harmful algae blooms, hypoxia (reduced levels of dissolved oxygen), and other water quality problems. Sources of excess nutrient pollution include in no particular order: burning of fossil fuels which transform atmospheric N2 into bioavailable NOx, animal waste manure, human waste, synthetic fertilizers used in agriculture and horticulture, soil and stream erosion that releases sediment bound nutrients, and the loss of healthy ecosystems capable of assimilating a portion of excess nutrients.
