Cyanobacterial blooms modify food web structure and interactions in western Lake Erie

•Cyanobloom habitat in Lake Erie had low visibility, high toxin (microcystin [MC]) concentrations, and both edible and inedible algae.•Crustacean zooplankton communities varied considerably across a cyanobacteria gradient, with biomass being positively related to cyanobacteria.•Zooplanktivorous prey-fish species, including white perch, gizzard shad, emerald shiners, and yellow perch, resided in cyanoblooms.•Although fish in cyanoblooms had altered diet selectivity and high MCs, their consumption of zooplankton did not differ from outside of cyanoblooms.•The long-term impacts of cyanoblooms on Lake Erie’s food webs, and the fish populations and fisheries that they support, remain unknown.