Rainforest Animals - The Food Web

As in any food web, there are more plant-eaters in the rain forest than there are meat-eaters. There are also many more plants than there are plant-eaters. There are also more small animals than large animals. Insects are the most numerous animals in rainforests.

Although there is intense competition between animals, there is also an interdependence. When one species goes extinct, it can affect an entire chain of other species and have unpredictable consequences.


Equilibrium
As the number of carnivores in a community increases, they eat more and more of the herbivores, decreasing the herbivore population. It then becomes harder and harder for the carnivores to find herbivores to eat, and the population of carnivores decreases. In this way, the carnivores and herbivores stay in a relatively stable equilibrium, each limiting the other's population. A similar equilibrium exists between plants and plant-eaters.

Related Terms:



CARNIVORE
Carnivores are animals that eat meat. They usually have sharp teeth and powerful jaws.


CONSUMER
A consumer is a living thing that eats other living things to survive. It cannot make its own food (unlike most plants, which are producers). Primary consumers eat producers, secondary consumers eat primary consumers, and so on. There are always many more primary consumers than secondary consumers, etc.


HERBIVORE
Herbivores are animals that eat plants. Most animals are herbivores.


HETEROTROPH
A heterotroph (or consumer) is a living thing that eats other living things to survive. It cannot make its own food (unlike plants, which are autotrophs). Animals are heterotrophs.


OMNIVORE
Omnivores are animals that eat both animals and plants. Some monivores include people, many monkeys and marmosets, lion tamarins, chimpanzees, and most bears.


TOP PREDATOR
A top predator is an animal at the top of the food chain, like the jaguar or bald eagle. Top predators have little or no natural enemies.