Riparian brush rabbits play a key role in the food web of the riparian forest, being a major part of the diets of many animals in the San Joaquin Valley riparian forest ecosystem. Riparian brush rabbits are slow and don’t move much, making them easy prey (Kelly, 2017) for many local riparian animals such as bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, domestic and feral dogs and cats, long-tailed weasels, minks, spotted skunks, striped skunks, red tailed hawks, Cooper's hawks, barn owls, rattlesnakes, and gopher snakes (Norris, 2016). Being part of the riparian forest food web, riparian brush rabbits additionally are part of a trophic level, the hierarchical level of an organism in an ecosystem which determines its function in said ecosystem. Riparian brush rabbits are primary consumers meaning they are herbivores, only eating plants and are the prey of secondary consumers, carnivores or omnivores. This is an imperative relationship for riparian forests since riparian brush rabbits are both being eaten by many of the animals native to riparian forest but also eating many of the native plants which grow in it. 

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The riparian brush rabbit diet consists of a wide range of native riparian forest plants including California blackberry, California wild rose, clover, forbs, grasses, green clover, leaves, marsh baccharis, sedges, and shoots (Williams, 1998). This diet not only helps to control the native plant population in the forest but once these rabbits excrete, their feces contain seeds and nutrients which benefit the riparian forest. The feces helps with the spread of seeds, allowing the native plant populations to flourish within the riparian forest, strengthening ecosystem health. The feces also acts as a natural fertilizer for these plants since it contains so many nutrients, give the plants an extra boost (Malpica, 2008). Having these native riparian plants don't only look pretty, but are providers of major ecosystem services like decreasing erosion, which promotes a clean, healthy stream, and decreasing the impact of flooding, acting like a sponge for the overflowing water. Have riparian brush rabbits maintaining the plants of the riparian forest helps ensure good biodiversity. This biodiversity allows the riparian forest to recover and adapt to change effectively, giving it a fight chance against ecosystem disturbances. Without the riparian brush rabbit, the riparian forest is nothing, a scary fact which effects your life more than you may think.