Cyanobacterial cohorts structure the diversity, abundance, and metabolism of heterotrophic bacteria in Lake Erie

Eutrophication and warming in Lake Erie create two microbial threats: cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) that can produce toxins, and seasonal hypoxia driven by microbial respiration. These phenomena are often studied separately, with cHABs research focused on the Western basin and hypoxia on the Central basin. We conducted lakewide microbial sampling at three time points in 2024 (May, August, and September), integrating physicochemical data, cyanotoxin quantification, amplicon sequencing, and flow cytometry. We demonstrate that cyanobacteria form spatially and seasonally distinct “cohorts” that act as hubs structuring abundant, diverse, and active communities across all basins. These cohorts display distinct relationships with heterotrophic communities, with colonial, bloom-forming cohorts (i.e., C1: Microcystis , C2: Pseudanabaena ) associated with higher richness and evenness, the picocyanobacterium C3: Cyanobium with increased heterotrophic abundance, and C2: Pseudanabaena additionally associated with increased numbers of metabolically active cells. Neither temperature nor nutrient concentrations consistently explained these patterns, although total phosphorus correlated with bloom-forming C1 and C2 cohorts. The cohorts also formed structured “consortia” with heterotrophic taxa, with each cyanobacterial group associated with consistent sets of heterotrophic partners. Together, these results are consistent with a model in which cyanobacterial abundance increases heterotrophic growth and respiration, suggesting a lakewide pathway linking cHABs to oxygen demand and hypoxia.