Editing Lake Huron (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Lake Huron.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|right|Lake Huron viewed from Arch Rock at [[Mackinac Island]]]]
Lake Huron has a [[lake retention time]] of 22 years. Like all of the Great Lakes, the ecology of Lake Huron has undergone drastic changes in the last century. The lake originally supported a native deepwater fish community dominated by [[lake trout]], which fed on several species of [[Cisco (fish)|cisco]]s as well as [[Sculpin|sculpins]] and other native fishes. Several [[invasive species]], including [[sea lamprey]], [[alewife (fish)|alewife]] and [[rainbow smelt]], became abundant in the lake by the 1930s. The major native top predator, lake trout, was virtually extirpated from the lake by 1950 through a combination of [[overfishing]] and the effects of sea lamprey. Several species of ciscos were also extirpated from the lake by the 1960s; the only remaining native ciscoes are [[Coregonus hoyi|bloater]] and [[Cisco (fish)|Cisco]] (lake herring). Non-native [[Oncorhynchus|Pacific salmon]] have been stocked in the lake since the 1960s, but are less abundant since a profound food web change that took place in 2003. [[Lake trout]] have also been stocked for decades in an attempt to rehabilitate the species and today are largely self sustaining, especially in the northern half of the lake.

Lake Huron contains many species of algae and seaweed, including the [[Potamogeton crispus|curly-leafed pondweed]], a tall, kelp-like seaweed with small curly leaves able to grow up to {{convert|5|m|ft}}; [[Myriophyllum spicatum|spiked water-milfoil]], a tall kelp-like seaweed with pine-like leaves, often growing in bushes, reaching heights of {{convert|2.5|m|ft}}; [[Spirogyra|water silk]], a smooth, silk-like algae that often grows on rocks; and [[Chara (alga)|muskgrass]], a seaweed with a skinny stem and flower-like leaves. It is important to note that spiked water-milfoil and curly-leafed pondweed are both invasive species that can remove resources from native algae species.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eurasian water milfoil {{!}} ontario.ca |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/eurasian-water-milfoil |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.ontario.ca |language=en}}</ref>

Lake Huron has suffered recently by the introduction of a variety of new invasive species, including [[Zebra mussel|zebra]] and [[quagga mussel]]s, the [[Bythotrephes longimanus|spiny water flea]], and [[round goby|round gobies]]. The [[demersal fish]] community of the lake was in a state of collapse by 2006,<ref>{{cite magazine |first1 = Stephen C. |last1 = Riley |first2 = Edward F. |last2 = Roseman |first3 = S. Jerrine |last3 = Nichols |first4 = Timothy P. |last4 = O'Brien |first5 = Courtney S. |last5 = Kiley |first6 = Jeffrey S. |last6 = Schaeffer |date = November 2008 |title = Deepwater demersal fish community collapse in Lake Huron |magazine = Transactions of the American Fisheries Society |volume = 137 |issue = 6 |pages = 1879–1880 |doi = 10.1577/T07-141.1 }}</ref> and a number of drastic changes have been observed in the zooplankton community of the lake.<ref>{{cite magazine |first1 = Richard P. |last1 = Barbiero |first2 = Mary |last2 = Balcer |first3 = David C. |last3 = Rockwell |first4 = Marc L. |last4 = Tuchman |date = April 2009 |title = Recent shifts in the crustacean zooplankton community of Lake Huron |magazine = Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |volume = 66 |issue = 5 |pages = 816–828 |doi = 10.1139/F09-036 }}</ref> [[Chinook salmon]] catches have also been greatly reduced in recent years, and [[lake whitefish]] have become less abundant and are in poor condition. These recent changes may be attributable to the new exotic species. Some native species, however were beneficiaries of these chances (principally a result of the almost complete disappearance of the invasive Alewife in the lake). These native species include Lake Trout and [[Walleye]]. The Walleye population in [[Saginaw Bay]] area of Lake Huron reached recovery targets in 2009.