This fish is
benthopelagic, feeding on the lakebed on insect larvae and crustaceans. In Loch Lomond, this fish exhibits a pattern of daily migration to feeding sites and of seasonal migration to breeding grounds. Before the breeding season, the mature males begin to congregate in deep water near the spawning beds; these are shallow areas of gravel and pebbles washed by waves. In late December and January they move into the shallows where they are joined by the ripe females, and spawning is completed by early February, after which the fish disperse to other parts of the loch. The eggs are eaten by
brown trout (
Salmo trutta),
common roach (
Rutilus rutilus), other powan and
Phryganea larvae, and the adult powan are heavily predated by the
northern pike (
Esox lucius) at breeding time. ==References==