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Abstract Species invasions can disrupt aquatic ecosystems by re‐wiring food webs. A trophic cascade triggered by the invasion of the predatory zooplankter spiny water flea (Bythotrephes cederströmii) resulted in increased phytoplankton due to decreased zooplankton grazing. Here, we show that increased phytoplankton biomass led to an increase in lake anoxia. The temporal and spatial extent of anoxia experienced a step change increase coincident with the invasion, and anoxic factor increased by 11 d. Post‐invasion, anoxia established more quickly following spring stratification, driven by an increase in phytoplankton biomass. A shift in spring phytoplankton phenology encompassed both abundance and community composition. Diatoms (Bacillaryophyta) drove the increase in spring phytoplankton biomass, but not all phytoplankton community members increased, shifting the community composition. We infer that increased phytoplankton biomass increased labile organic matter and drove hypolimnetic oxygen consumption. These results demonstrate how a species invasion can shift lake phenology and biogeochemistry.

Abstract Anthropogenic freshwater salinization affects thousands of lakes worldwide, and yet little is known about how salt loading may shift timing of lake stratification and spring mixing in dimictic lakes. Here, we investigate the impact of salinization on mixing in Lakes Mendota and Monona, Wisconsin, by deploying under‐ice buoys to record salinity gradients, using an analytical approach to quantify salinity thresholds that prevent spring mixing, and running an ensemble of vertical one‐dimensional hydrodynamic lake models (GLM, GOTM, and Simstrat) to investigate the long‐term impact of winter salt loading on mixing and stratification. We found that spring salinity gradients between surface and bottom waters persist up to a month after ice‐off, and that theory predicts a salinity gradient of 1.3–1.4 g kg−1 would prevent spring mixing. Numerical models project that salt loading delays spring mixing and increases water column stability, with ramifications for oxygenation of bottom waters, biogeochemistry, and lake habitability.