Live Foods from the Wild
Part II –
Where to Find Wild Foods
A presentation for
The Angelfish Society
October 17, 2010
by Tamar Stephens
About this presentation
This is the second in a series of presentations
on live foods from the wild.
Part I talked about the nutritional value of wild foods.
Part II (this presentation) talks about where to find
wild foods.
The rest of this series will cover:
Part III: How to collect wild foods
Part IV: Types of wild foods
Part V: How to culture wild foods
Seasonal Variations
With angelfish, we are most
interested in collecting various
types of live foods from the
aquatic environment, such as
insect larvae or small
crustaceans.
In regions with distinct seasons, the
availability of wild foods will vary
throughout the year.
The greatest abundance will be
available during the spring and
summer months when there is
ample sunlight, temperatures are
warm, and water bodies are not
covered with ice.
Aquatic Sources of Wild Foods
Most wild foods will be found in
aquatic environments
To understand where to look for wild foods, think
about the basic types of organisms that exist in a
food chain, and what they need to survive.
Angelfish are primarily predators, so in the wild the
bulk of their diet will consist aquatic prey species,
not aquatic plants.
Food Chain Roles
Energy from the sun
Secondary consumers:
“predators”
Primary consumers (organisms that
eat plants) aka “prey”
Producers (algae and other aquatic plants that convert sunlight to energy
through photosynthesis)
Decomposers (bacteria, fungi, etc.)
In a food chain, the most abundant biomass consists of plants (producers).
The primary consumers that eat plants are the next most abundant.
The least abundant are the predators. A food chain usually had multiple tiers of
predators, and the top predators are the least abundant organisms.
Angelfish are predators
Since angelfish are predators, it would make
sense to look for locations with abundant prey
species.
Prey species will be most abundant where there
is plenty of aquatic plant life.
So what kinds of water bodies will provide good
habitat for abundant plant life and therefore
abundant prey species?
Calm water bodies support plant
growth
In general, relatively calm or slow moving water
will provide a place for plant growth.
Detritus sinks to the bottom where it provides a
rich organic substrate for plant growth, as well
as a substrate for the decomposers that turn
waste back into basic components.
The plants provide food for the primary
consumers (plant eaters), as well as habitat with
hiding places for them to live, breed, lay eggs,
raise young, etc.
Ponds
A pond is a standing body
of water. It can be
natural or man-made.
In general, a pond is
shallow enough that
light penetrates to the
bottom, providing
energy for plants to
grow.
A pond provides habitat
for a rich diversity of
living things.
Ponds may be selfcontained or may be
fed by a spring or small
stream.
A pond in Ulster. Photo from Wikipedia
Commons, contributed by user: Roland zh
Puddles
Don’t overlook puddles as a
potential source for finding wild
foods.
A puddle is usually small and
ephemeral, often appearing
after rainfall, or from irrigation.
You may have seen puddles in
low spots in your yard when
you water the lawn.
If a puddle retains water for
several days or more, an
abundance of life will start to
appear in it, including
organisms such as algae and
insect larvae.
Photo from Wikipedia
Commons
Lakes
The difference between a lake
and a pond can be debated,
but in general a lake will be
deeper and larger than a
pond. Light may not reach to
the bottom of the lake.
The richest habitat for wild foods
will be in the shallower areas
closer to the shoreline where
sunlight penetrates so
support plant growth.
Shoreline vegetation provides
shade, as well as fallen
leaves and other organic litter
to help support an organic
substrate on the lake bed.
Lake Tahoe on the border between
California and Nevada. From
Wikipedia Commons..
Sloughs
A slough branches off a river and
may be a former channel. The
bottom of the channel may be
silted up, so that water moves
slowly, and may be stagnant at
time.
The Noyes slough in Fairbanks,
Alaska is frozen about 6
months of the year, but teems
with live during spring and
summer, providing habitat for
everything from insect larvae
to ducks and beavers.
Because of the slow movement of
water and shallow depths, a
slough is similar to pond.
Noyes Slough, Fairbanks,
Alaska. (Photo courtesy of the
U.S. Geological Survey)
Rivers and Streams
Rivers and streams are often
fast-moving. The river bed
can be scoured by fast
moving water, so that plants
have difficulty taking root. Silt
and sand carried by the water
can scour rocks clean so that
even algae has difficulty
growing. The water may be
too turbulent for many small
organisms.
Good habitat can sometimes be
found along a river bank or in
other localized calm areas.
Swift rivers and streams are
not as good as ponds and
other calm water bodies as
sources of wild foods.
Photo from Wikipedia commons.
Backyard Ponds
Constructing a backyard pond
can be a good way to create
your own source of wild
foods.
If you live in a warm climate,
placing some of your
angelfish in the pond during
summer months can provide
them with free access to
graze throughout the day on
insects that land on the
water, and on insect larvae
and other creatures that will
appear in the pond.
Picture from www.relaxingdecor.com/pondinstallations.htm
Where can you find wild foods near
you?
Think about what kinds of water bodies exist near
your home. Is there a stream or pond near
you? Do you have areas that collect rain water
into puddles that last for weeks? Do you have
a backyard pond? Maybe you would like to
build a backyard pond?
In the next installment of this series, we will talk
about how you go about collecting wild foods.
The End
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discussion.