Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.


Pest (organism)

Pest (organism)

A pest is an organism which has characteristics that are regarded by humans as injurious or unwanted. This is most often because it causes damage to agriculture through feeding on crops or parasitising livestock, such as codling moth on apples, or boll weevil on cotton. An animal can also be a pest when it causes damage to a wild ecosystem or carries germs within human habitats. Examples of these include those organisms which vector human disease, such as rats and fleas which carry the plague disease, or mosquitoes which vector malaria.

The term pest may be used to refer specifically to harmful animals but is also often taken to mean all harmful organisms including fungi and viruses. Pesticides are chemicals that are used to control or protect other organisms from pests.

It is possible for an animal to be a pest in one setting but beneficial or domesticated in another (for example, European rabbits introduced to Australia caused ecological damage beyond the scale they inflicted in their natural habitat). Many weeds are also seen as useful under certain conditions, for instance Patterson's curse is often valued as food for honeybees and as a wildflower, even though it can poison livestock.

The concept of a pest is anthropogenic, based on human purposes and perceptions.

Related is pestilence, which is any highly-infectious (epidemic) disease.

ee also

* Invasive species
* List of common household pests
* Woodboring beetle
* Pest control
* Pests and diseases of roses
* Vermin
* Weed


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pest — may refer to: *Pest, an archaic term for pestilence, originally the Black Death *Pest (hockey), an ice hockey player specialising in aggravating opponents *Pest (music), a British music group *Pest (organism), an undesirable animal or insect… …   Wikipedia

  • pest — /pest/, n. 1. an annoying or troublesome person, animal, or thing; nuisance. 2. an insect or other small animal that harms or destroys garden plants, trees, etc. 3. a deadly epidemic disease, esp. a plague; pestilence. [1545 55; < L pestis… …   Universalium

  • Pest — /pest/; Hung. /pesht/, n. See under Budapest. * * * Any organism, usually an animal, judged as a threat to humans. Most pests either compete with humans for natural resources or transmit disease to humans, their crops, or their livestock.… …   Universalium

  • Beneficial organism — In agriculture and gardening, a beneficial organism is any organism that benefits the growing process, including insects, arachnids, other animals, plants, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes. Benefits include pest control, pollination, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Biological pest control — Biological control of pests in agriculture is a method of controlling pests (including insects, mites, weeds and plant diseases) that relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms. It can be an important component of… …   Wikipedia

  • Genetically modified organism — GMO redirects here. For other uses, see GMO (disambiguation). GloFish, the first genetically modified animal to be sold as a pet A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material… …   Wikipedia

  • genetically modified organism — Introduction  organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the production of desired biological products. In conventional livestock production, crop farming, and… …   Universalium

  • List of common household pests — *ants **Argentine ant **carpenter ant **fire ant **odorous house ant **pavement ant **pharaoh ant **pine tree ant **thief ant **velvety tree ant *bats *bed bug *cockroaches **brown banded cockroach **German cockroach **Oriental cockroach *carpet… …   Wikipedia

  • Glossary of environmental science — This is a glossary of environmental science.Environmental science is the study of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. Environmental science provides an integrated, quantitative, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Life Sciences — ▪ 2009 Introduction Zoology       In 2008 several zoological studies provided new insights into how species life history traits (such as the timing of reproduction or the length of life of adult individuals) are derived in part as responses to… …   Universalium