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6. Stream and the Forest: Who eats Who?

When people go fishing they often use fishing flies instead of the bait more familiar to most of us - the worm. Fishing flies are made to resemble the different insects that different fish eat. So, what do salmon eggs eat? Trick question! Eggs don't have to eat because they have a yolk sac to get nutrition from. Same thing goes for the next stage in the salmon life cycle, the alevin stage. They may look like they can swim, but they don't, they're still buried under the gravel in their redd getting nutrients from their yolk sacs. But once they reach the fry stage, salmon start chasing insect larvae around looking for a snack! O.K., so what eats the young salmon? Ducks and trout eat salmon eggs, alevin, and fry. And, when nests are disrupted, eggs and alevin are even eaten by growing insects! Also found in the freshwater spawning pools are spawning salmon! And what eats them? Bears! Bears sometimes drag spawners well into the forest before opening them up and scooping the eggs right out of them, leaving the flesh of the salmon to decompose in the forest, feeding plants and insects.

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