In
ecology, a
weedy species is a
species that lives in a wide variety of ecologies, including unstable ones and those damaged by man. It refers to both plants (not quite the same as the definition of a
weed proper) and animals. A 'weedy' animal can subsist on a variety of foods, opportunistically, and has
population dynamics[?] that tend to prevent it from depending over-much on abundance. Very often, it thrives in environments that are so damaged by man as to be uninhabitable by other species.
Examples of weedy species are:
Weedy species often overrun the native species of ecoregions they are introduced to. For instance, rabbits rapidly displaced native marsupial species in Australia. Feral dogs[?] often displace other species especially in Africa and Latin America (where people do not generally eat dogs, unlike Asia). Rats, mice and cockroaches often overwhelm urban areas.