Photo by jasperdoest | In Gabon’s Lopé National Park, the doughnut-shaped fruit of the Omphalocarpum procerum grows on its branches and trunk, which is common for rainforest trees. Scientists believe it’s an adaptation to promote pollination by insects, such as ants, found in the trees. Like most of the plant species found in Lopé, Omphalocarpum trees rely on animals to disperse their seeds. Only elephants have jaws strong enough to crack open the hard, thick shells, swallowing—and passing—the intact seeds and making them more likely to germinate. The trees rely on these elephants for survival as much as the elephants depend on the fruits. In parts of Africa where poaching has eliminated forest elephants, Omphalocarpum fruits rot on the ground, leaving their seeds wasted and the trees unable to reproduce. No species of animal or plant can survive alone. They are all part of an ecosystem within which a complex web of interactions exists. If any strand of that web is broken, it will r...