Seeds consumed by the kangaroo rat are converted into animal tissue. It takes many rabbits and rodents to feed a single owl, coyote, bobcat, or eagle, so there must be far more prey than predators. The original solar energy converted to plant tissue has now been transformed several times as it moves through the food web. As the original source of living energy, plants fulfill a vital role in the food web. A large productive plant such as the Joshua tree resembles a focal point for a complex community of wildlife.
Some birds nest in the living tree.
Others come regularly to feed on resident insects. Discarded limbs or the toppled body of the tree provide homes for the yucca night lizard and termites. Even in death, the plant energy of the Joshua tree is converted by termites to animal energy. Termites find protection from heat, cold, and drying winds in the decaying fiber. The yucca night lizard finds the same environmental sanctuary along with its preference for food, termites.