FOOD CHAIN
TROPICAL RAINFOREST
The relationship among species in an ecosystem have often been described as a "food chain". The larger animals eat the smaller animals. Rainforest relationships are better described as a web — a rainforest food web. The insects of the rainforest floor tend to eat plants, fungi, decaying material and other insects, and in turn be eaten by spiders, among a host of other creatures. And while it’s easy to imagine rain forest birds eating spiders, it is also true that at least one species of spider in the rainforest food web.
At the very center of the rainforest food web sit the top predators. In most rain forests, these central slots are held by the big cats - tigers, leopards and jaguar — the big snakes, the big crocodiles and the largest birds of prey.