Eutrophication and global climate change gather advantageous conditions for cyanobacteria proliferation leading to bloom formation and cyanotoxin production. In the Azores, eutrophication is a major concern, mainly in lakes where fertilizers and organic matter discharges have increased nutrient concentration. In this study, we focused on understanding the influence of environmental factors and lake characteristics on (i) cyanobacteria diversity and biomass and (ii) the presence of toxic strains and microcystin, saxitoxin, anatoxin-a, and cylindrospermopsin cyanotoxin-producing genes. Fifteen lakes from the Azores Archipelago were sampled seasonally, environmental variables were recorded in situ, cyanobacteria were analyzed with microscopic techniques, and cyanotoxin-producing genes were targeted through conventional PCR. Statistical analysis (DistLM) showed that lake typology-associated variables (lake’s depth, area, and altitude) were the most explanatory variables of cyanobacteria biomass and cyanotoxin-producing genes presence, although trophic variables (chlorophyll a and total phosphorus) influence species distribution in each lake type. Our main results revealed higher cyanobacteria biomass/diversity, and higher toxicity risk in lakes located at lower altitudes, associated with deep anthropogenic pressures and eutrophication scenarios. These results emphasize the need for cyanobacteria blooms control measures, mainly by decreasing anthropogenic pressures surrounding these lakes, thus decreasing eutrophication. We also highlight the potential for microcystin, saxitoxin, and anatoxin-a production in these lakes, hence the necessity to implement continuous mitigation protocols to avoid environmental and public health toxicity events.

The Azores are oceanic islands located in the Northern Atlantic Ocean and are particularly rich in aquatic systems, ranging from freshwater, brackish, marine and thermal habitats. Due to the increase in local anthropogenic pressures and global warming, several azorean lakes began to reveal signs of eutrophication that led to the implementation of monitoring programmes and management strategies on the most impacted lakes. Later, the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) demanded the establishment of biomonitoring programmes for European freshwater ecosystems and the limited Azorean monitoring programmes were extended to a larger set of lakes. Since the establishment of the aquatic systems monitoring programme in the Azores archipelago, lakes have been regularly sampled, producing innumerous unpublished records of cyanobacteria that are difficult to access. Here we present the occurrences of cyanobacteria in Azorean lakes that result from 22 years of phytoplankton monitoring in a total of 1948 cyanobacteria occurrences from 968 phytoplankton sampling events on Azorean lakes done between 1996 and 2018 as part of regional inland aquatic ecosystems monitoring programmes. Forty two cyanobacteria taxa were identified in those events, 28 species and 14 at genus level. This information is crucial for conservation, biodiversity studies and lake management, as some of the cyanobacteria species present are bloom-forming and have the ability to produce toxins. This will also allow for the identification of invasive species and possible targeted control and mitigation programmes, according to the species present in the Azorean lakes.