Microbes in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants such as moose help break down recalcitrant plant biomass into carbon nutrients, but how do they do this over the course of seasons when the moose diet changes, and what microbes are involved? Now, an international research team has studied microbial communities in the rumen of live moose and gained a more holistic view of a complex microbial food web that is responsible for carbon processing in that ecosystem.