Synanthropic form: definition, examples. Synanthropic organisms

What is a synanthropic species? By this concept means organisms whose existence is related to human activity. If we consider animals, then this category includes species whose diet is built on household waste, human food. Since man and his way of life are a good source of food, the synanthropic organisms seldom leave the settlements. Let's look at the details of what these species are.

Sinanthropic plants

Sinanthropic plants are a fairly heterogeneous group of organisms. They are divided as follows:

1. Segmental plants - settle on plantations of cultivated plants and in fields. The bulk is made up of weeds. Some segetal plants have a clear attachment to a particular culture, without which they can not develop, multiply, and exist as a whole.
2. Ruderal plants are rarely found among crops. Most often settled in waste dumps, wasteland, grow on the streets, near roads, near dwellings. Unlike the previous category of synanthropic plants, they do not cause practical harm to humans, but only spoil the general appearance of well-groomed territories.
3. Adventive plants are species that are transported by long-distance vehicles between remote regions of the planet. For this reason, they are often found near sea and river docks, airports, factories, railway stations. If there are suitable conditions for growth and reproduction, they can later become ruderal or segmental plants.

Sinantropic insects

How did insects appear that are classified as Sinanthropus? It is noteworthy that initially it was the man who came to their house, occupying all new habitats. Some creatures, such as spiders, black cockroaches, inhabited caves in prehistoric times. Gradually, people learned how to build their own dwellings. Together with them from primitive shelters, insects also moved. The reason for this behavior was the emergence of rapid access to unlimited food.

All insects, which are considered Sinanthropus, can be divided into several categories:

1. Intra-urban - can exist without leaving the limits of human settlements. However, they can live not only at home, but also be outside of them. These include ants, mosquitoes, flies, mosquitoes. With the onset of cold weather, the synanthropic species of insects can climb into dwellings and spend the winter in secluded places.
2. In-house - live exclusively inside houses. Bright examples are a black cockroach, a bug, a flea, a moth.

What harm does the human sinantropic insects do?

Obviously, living next door is beneficial only to the synanthropic insects, but not to the person. Most of these organisms are parasites that damage the health of people, destroy our homes, pollute food, spoil everyday life, clothing, and others. Insects of this category mostly contact with impurities, feed on decomposing waste and therefore carry a danger in the epidemiological plan.

Synanthropic species of animals - main groups

Animals that are classified as Sinanthropus can be divided into several separate groups:

1. Optional - rodents, small predators, some birds, which only slightly depend on the person. Such species try to avoid direct contact with people. Most often live on the periphery of settlements, in particular, they live in planting trees, on crops of cultivated plants.
2. Obligatory ones are species that seriously depend on a person and his activity. They can not exist outside the settlements. During the development of civilization such animals constantly followed the person, which allowed them to expand their habitats. Bright representatives of obligate species are mice in the house, pigeons, rats.

Rodents

Among the synanthropic animals, rodents occupy a special place, which have adapted to close proximity to humans. Despite their small size, they have good survivability in almost all conditions. Mountainous terrain, arid regions, cold, tropical climate - all this is not an obstacle to the growth of the rodent population, which represent a synanthropic species.

The problem of mass settlement of such animals in human settlements remains relevant to this day. Mice in the house and rats began to live with us from the moment when the person began to throw away waste in the vicinity of his own home. However, the phenomenon became widespread in the course of the development of agriculture, when people began to grow grain, to breed cattle.

Animals of this category can be characterized as follows:

1. Such rodents do not reach such impressive proportions as their relatives that they live in natural, wild conditions.
2. The ration consists mainly of grain, as well as animal feed. In the absence of the latter can safely exist, eating waste, greens. They can eat insects, which are also classified as Sinanthropus.
3. For a long time they live within the same human settlement. With the disappearance of the source of food, they can overcome rather impressive distances by large colonies in search of other suitable places where there is access to food.
4. Are able to regularly give offspring, which allowed the synanthropic rodents to fill the whole world.
5. Like people, they have quite complex relationships in groups. Their conditional society is divided into hierarchical, social structures.
6. Sinanthropic rodents are absolutely not confused by the close presence of people. In most rats and domestic mice, a person practically does not cause fear. Exceptions are only pets that can be dangerous for them.

Sinanthropic birds

The main feature of synanthropic birds is their sedentary lifestyle. They settle on the roofs of houses, build nests in parks, other green areas where there is close access to food. Today there are some types of waterfowl that no longer fly to warmer regions with the onset of cold weather, and winter on ice-free settling basins.

What are the dangerous synanthropic birds?

Such species as sparrows, pigeons and crows, damage the architecture of settlements. However, the main danger is the spread of infections. There are several viral diseases that can be transmitted from them to humans, in particular avian flu. Some outbreaks of epidemics of dangerous diseases among people are the result of migrations of synanthropic birds.

Microorganisms

Synanthropic microorganisms occupy a special place among the adaptable creatures of this plan. Their main body is pathogenic bacteria, which can only develop in the human body. However, today one can also find a synanthropic species of microorganisms that are inseparably linked with the processes of industrialization. In particular, scientists distinguish bacteria that have learned to assimilate the decomposition products of all kinds of artificial polymers.