Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Carnivora. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Is there such a thing as an innocuous commensal vertebrate?
Topic Started: Dec 15 2016, 07:55 AM (855 Views)
Thalanx
Member Avatar
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
Can anyone think of a vertebrate species that is highly reliant on human habitation and refuse in order to thrive, but is not a major economic or ecological pest?
Obviously, this means that such species as mice, rats, sparrows, rock pigeons, and starlings are out.
If a completely innocuous vertebrate 'commensal' does not exist, then I would like to know what the least-harmful 'commensal' vertebrate in existence is. My guess is that it is the house gecko.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Wyvax
Member Avatar
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
Honestly what harm do pigeons do besides poop on everything? Forgive me on my ignorance, I don't live around them, but I don't really see them as pests.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
M4A2E4
Member Avatar
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
House geckos? I don't know if they qualify as highly reliant through.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Thalanx
Member Avatar
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
Wyvax
Dec 15 2016, 08:10 AM
Honestly what harm do pigeons do besides poop on everything? Forgive me on my ignorance, I don't live around them, but I don't really see them as pests.
Their pooing on everything is considered to be significantly aesthetically harmful, and I think it also poses a health risk.
Surprisingly, they are also apparently major crop pests in rural areas.
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/?q=node/462
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ceratodromeus
Member Avatar
Aspiring herpetologist
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Lots of small lizard species probably fit the bill nicely.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Thalanx
Member Avatar
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
Ceratodromeus
Dec 15 2016, 12:06 PM
Lots of small lizard species probably fit the bill nicely.
In terms of economic impacts, possibly, but if the commensal lizard/s has arrived from elsewhere and is not native, then there's a chance that it can displace native lizards that live in and around human habitation
http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Reptiles/Geckos/Asian+House+Gecko
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Grimace
Kleptoparasite
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Parrots. We have them here, and they basically entirely live off of fruit and etc trees in the city.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Reduvia
Autotrophic Organism
[ *  * ]
Thalanx
Dec 15 2016, 02:10 PM
Ceratodromeus
Dec 15 2016, 12:06 PM
Lots of small lizard species probably fit the bill nicely.
In terms of economic impacts, possibly, but if the commensal lizard/s has arrived from elsewhere and is not native, then there's a chance that it can displace native lizards that live in and around human habitation
http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Reptiles/Geckos/Asian+House+Gecko
Any species that lives in association with humans is probably going to end up spreading around the world. So if your criteria include that it can't be an introduced species anywhere, there's not gonna be an easy answer.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Thalanx
Member Avatar
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
Reduvia
Dec 16 2016, 09:44 PM
Thalanx
Dec 15 2016, 02:10 PM
Ceratodromeus
Dec 15 2016, 12:06 PM
Lots of small lizard species probably fit the bill nicely.
In terms of economic impacts, possibly, but if the commensal lizard/s has arrived from elsewhere and is not native, then there's a chance that it can displace native lizards that live in and around human habitation
http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Reptiles/Geckos/Asian+House+Gecko
Any species that lives in association with humans is probably going to end up spreading around the world. So if your criteria include that it can't be an introduced species anywhere, there's not gonna be an easy answer.
It is possible for an introduced vertebrate species to have a very limited impact on the economy and native animals of where it has been introduced to, so it's fair to assume that an introduced commensal vertebrate species can have negligible economic and ecological impacts as well
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Thalassophoneus
Member Avatar
Pelagic Killer
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Wyvax
Dec 15 2016, 08:10 AM
Honestly what harm do pigeons do besides poop on everything? Forgive me on my ignorance, I don't live around them, but I don't really see them as pests.
Athens is full of pigeons. Sometimes it has happened for a pigeon to enter our classroom.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
LionClaws
Member Avatar
Omnivore
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Certain housecats might be sufficiently independent to be regarded as merely "commensal."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Reduvia
Autotrophic Organism
[ *  * ]
Thalanx
Dec 17 2016, 08:46 AM
Reduvia
Dec 16 2016, 09:44 PM
Thalanx
Dec 15 2016, 02:10 PM
Any species that lives in association with humans is probably going to end up spreading around the world. So if your criteria include that it can't be an introduced species anywhere, there's not gonna be an easy answer.
It is possible for an introduced vertebrate species to have a very limited impact on the economy and native animals of where it has been introduced to, so it's fair to assume that an introduced commensal vertebrate species can have negligible economic and ecological impacts as well
How about house geckos and other small lizards in their own native range?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ceratodromeus
Member Avatar
Aspiring herpetologist
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Thalanx
Dec 15 2016, 02:10 PM
Ceratodromeus
Dec 15 2016, 12:06 PM
Lots of small lizard species probably fit the bill nicely.
In terms of economic impacts, possibly, but if the commensal lizard/s has arrived from elsewhere and is not native, then there's a chance that it can displace native lizards that live in and around human habitation
http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Reptiles/Geckos/Asian+House+Gecko
Yes a lot of small introduced species do have this effect, though obviously not all, I was more under the impression this would be in the animal in questions' native range though.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Reduvia
Autotrophic Organism
[ *  * ]
There's rat snakes and other colubrids that enter houses and barns and such to feed on rodents.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ceratodromeus
Member Avatar
Aspiring herpetologist
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Brown house snakes are of course a notable example
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
2 users reading this topic (2 Guests and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Enjoy forums? Start your own community for free.
Learn More · Sign-up for Free
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Zoological Debate & Discussion · Next Topic »
Add Reply