Scavengers
Scavengers are a very important animal in the detritus food chain because they eat dead organisims. If scavengers didn't eat other dead organisim then there would be dead organisims all over the rain forest. The scavengers role in the food web is to eat the animals that have died, when the scavengers eat the animals that have died the scavengers are keeping the flow of energy through the community. If there wasn't any scavnegers then the energy locked in dead organisims would be wasted. Another reason why scavengers are very important in the food web is if their wasn't any scavengers there would be dead organisims all over the place where there was a populated area and it would cause many different diases .
"King Vulture" Sarcoramphus papa Photo © George Lepp/CORBIS , Courtesy Ron Kalasinskas	Name: King Vulture Description: The King Vulture is a very large bird in the Amazon. The length of the king vulture's body is 32 inches. The king vulture's wingspan is about 4 feet in length. The king vulture's beak is very sharp so the bird can rip the flesh off the dead animal. Habitat: Tropical rainforest in the Amazon baison. Diet: The king vulture feeds on dead decaying flesh mostly caimen (a type of alligator). The king vulture usually eats any thing thats dead laying around. King vultures usually will follow other King vultures to where there will be food.
Name: piranhas Description: They live in schools and they are found in cloudy water. The water the piranhas live in has to be from 24-27 degrees centigrade. The piranhas has 27- 36 teeth. Piranhas can grow up to 1 foot in length. One species of piranhas have a vibrant red belly to warn other piranhas or other enimies away. Habitat: Rivers of South America Amazon Basin. The piranha lives in every river in South America. Diet: Piranhas diets consist of fruits, other fish, other piranhas, amphibians,young herons and sometimes cattle when the cattle falls in the rivers. Some South American tribes believe piranhas are sacred and they through fruits and other foods in to the rivers for them. Piranhas are scavengers because any dead animal they find in the river they attack it emmediatly. Piranhas also attack food that other piranhas or caimen are eating and then eat the animal that had caughten the food before.	"Black Piranha" Serrasalmus rhombeus Photo courtesy/copyright David Schleser

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