Editing Lake Winnipeg (section)

==Natural history==
===Fish===
The varying habitats found within the lake support a large number of fish species, more than any other lake in Canada west of the [[Great Lakes]].<ref name="Stewart/Watkinson"/>  Sixty of seventy-nine native species found in Manitoba are present in the lake.<ref name="Stewart/Watkinson_occurence">{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Kenneth W.|last2=Watkinson|first2=Douglas A.|title=The freshwater fishes of Manitoba|date=2004|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press, CN|location=Manitoba|isbn=0-88755-678-7|pages=249–257}}</ref> Families represented include lampreys ([[Petromyzontidae]]), sturgeon ([[Acipenseridae]]), mooneyes ([[Hiodontidae]]), minnows ([[Cyprinidae]]), suckers ([[Catostomidae]]), catfish ([[Ictaluridae]]), pike ([[Esocidae]]), trout and whitefish ([[Salmonidae]]), troutperch ([[Percopsidae]]), codfish ([[Gadidae]]), sticklebacks ([[Gasterosteidae]]), sculpins ([[Cottidae]]), sunfish ([[Centrarchidae]]), perch ([[Percidae]]), and drum ([[Sciaenidae]]).<ref name="Stewart/Watkinson_occurence"/>

Two fish species present in the lake are considered to be at risk, the [[shortjaw cisco]] and the [[bigmouth buffalo]].<ref>{{cite web|title=COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Shortjaw Cisco (Coregonus zenithicus) in Canada – 2009|url=http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=0379EBFF-1&offset=1&toc=show|website=Species at Risk Public Registry| date=26 October 2009 |publisher=Government of Canada, Environment|access-date=24 September 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Bigmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) in Canada – 2009|url=http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=2CD0DE36-1|website=Species at Risk Public Registry| date=7 December 2009 |publisher=Government of Canada, Environment|access-date=24 September 2017|language=en}}</ref>

[[Rainbow trout]] and [[brown trout]] are stocked in Manitoba waters by provincial fisheries as part of a put and take program to support angling opportunities. Neither species is able to sustain itself independently in Manitoba.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Kenneth W.|last2=Watkinson|first2=Douglas A.|title=The freshwater fishes of Manitoba|date=2004|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press, CN|location=Manitoba|isbn=0-88755-678-7|pages=169–174}}</ref>
[[Smallmouth bass]] was first recorded from the lake in 2002, indicating populations introduced elsewhere in the watershed are now present in the lake.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Kenneth W.|last2=Watkinson|first2=Douglas A.|title=The freshwater fishes of Manitoba|date=2004|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press, CN|location=Manitoba|isbn=0-88755-678-7|pages=221–222}}</ref>
[[White bass]] were first recorded from the lake in 1963, ten years after being introduced into [[Baldhill Dam|Lake Ashtabula]] in North Dakota.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Kenneth W.|last2=Watkinson|first2=Douglas A.|title=The freshwater fishes of Manitoba|date=2004|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press, CN|location=Manitoba|isbn=0-88755-678-7|pages=208–209}}</ref>
[[Common carp]] were introduced to the lake through the [[Red River of the North]] and are firmly established.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Kenneth W.|last2=Watkinson|first2=Douglas A.|title=The freshwater fishes of Manitoba|date=2004|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press, CN|location=Manitoba|isbn=0-88755-678-7|page=22}}</ref>

===Birds===
Lake Winnipeg provides feeding and nesting sites for a wide variety of birds associated with water during the summer months. 
[[File:Hecla Island and Provincial Park in Lake Winnipeg Manitoba (14).JPG|thumb|[[American white pelican]]s loaf near shore, [[Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park]]]]
Isolated, uninhabited islands provide nesting sites for colonial nesting birds including pelicans, gulls and terns. Large marshes, shores and shallows allow these birds to successfully feed themselves and their young. [[Pipestone Rocks]] are considered a globally significant site for [[American white pelican]]s. In 1998, an estimated 3.7% of the world's population of this bird at the time were counted nesting on the rocky outcrops.<ref name="IBAMB012">{{cite web|title=Pipestone Rocks|url=http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=MB012|website=Important Bird Areas Canada|publisher=Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada|access-date=24 September 2017}}</ref> The same site is significant within North America for the numbers of colonial waterbirds using the area, especially [[common tern]]s.<ref name="IBAMB012"/> Other globally significant nesting areas are found at [[Gull Island (Lake Winnipeg)|Gull Island]] and [[Sandhill Island]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Gull and Sandhill Island|url=http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=MB004|website=Important Bird Areas Canada|publisher=Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada|access-date=24 September 2017}}</ref> [[Little George Island]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Little George Island|url=http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=MB062|website=Important Bird Areas Canada|publisher=Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada|access-date=24 September 2017}}</ref> and [[Louis Island]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Louis Island and Associated Reefs|url=http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=MB086|website=Important Bird Areas Canada|publisher=Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada|access-date=24 September 2017}}</ref> Birds nesting at these sites include common and [[Caspian tern]]s, [[American herring gull|herring gull]]s, [[ring-billed gull]]s, [[double-crested cormorant]]s and [[greater scaup]]s.

Lake Winnipeg has two sites considered globally important in the fall migration. Large populations of waterfowl and shorebirds use the sand bars east of [[Riverton, Manitoba|Riverton]] as a staging area for fall migration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Riverton Sandy Bar|url=http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=MB091|website=Important Bird Areas Canada|publisher=Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada|access-date=24 September 2017}}</ref> The [[Netley-Libau Marsh]], where the Red River enters Lake Winnipeg, is used by geese, ducks and swallows to gather for the southward migration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Netley-Libau Marsh|url=http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=MB009|website=Important Bird Areas Canada|publisher=Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada|access-date=24 September 2017}}</ref>

[[Piping plover]]s, an endangered species of shorebird, are found in several locations around the lake. The [[Gull Bay Spits]], south of the town of Grand Rapids, are considered nationally significant nesting sites for this species.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gull Bay Spits|url=http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=MB053|website=Important Bird Areas Canada|publisher=Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada|access-date=24 September 2017}}</ref>

===Protected areas===
* [[Beaver Creek Provincial Park (Manitoba)|Beaver Creek Provincial Park]]
* [[Camp Morton Provincial Park]]
* [[Elk Island Provincial Park]]
* [[Fisher Bay Provincial Park]]
* [[Grand Beach Provincial Park]]
* [[Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park]]
* [[Hnausa Beach Provincial Park]]
* [[Kinwow Provincial Park]]
* [[Patricia Beach Provincial Park]]
* [[Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park]]
* [[Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park]]

===Environmental issues===
{{main|Lake Winnipeg algae threat}}
Lake Winnipeg is suffering from many [[environmental issues]] such as an explosion in the population of [[cyanobacteria]], caused by excessive amounts of phosphorus seeping into the lake.<ref>[http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/11m-for-lake-winnipeg-49170002.html $1.1M for Lake Winnipeg - Winnipeg Free Press]</ref><ref>[http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/08/20/canada%e2%80%99s-sickest-lake Canada's sickest lake] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828031757/http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/08/20/canada%E2%80%99s-sickest-lake/ |date=28 August 2009 }},  MacLean's Magazine</ref>  The phosphorus levels are approaching a point that could be dangerous for human health.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lake Winnipeg at 'tipping point': report |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lake-winnipeg-at-tipping-point-report-1.978527 |publisher=CBC News |date=31 May 2011}}</ref>

The [[Global Nature Fund]] declared Lake Winnipeg as the "threatened lake of the year" in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lake Winnipeg declared threatened lake of the year|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/lake-winnipeg-declared-threatened-lake-of-year-189778541.html|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=5 February 2013}}</ref>

In 2015, there was a major uptick of [[zebra mussels]] in Lake Winnipeg, the reduction of which is next to impossible because of a lack of natural predators in the lake. The mussels are devastating to the ecological opportunities of the lake.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lake-winnipeg-zebra-mussels-lost-cause-eva-pip-1.3264283 Lake Winnipeg a lost cause - CBC Online]</ref>