Are mainly pest species capable of inhabiting human-induced ecotones?

Characteristics we associate with animal pests include several –isms: opportunism, commensalism, and generalism. What else do pest species have in common and do they share these traits with edge-using species? To what extent is the pest (relative to non-pest) faunal assembly independent of ecotonal characteristics?

In ecotones of the temperate zone, we find deer, rabbits, possums, rats, goats, raccoons, and squirrels while rats, shrews, rooks, squirrels, and monkeys abound in tropical ecotones.

How much existing wildlife habitat currently consists of ecotones and edges? And what proportion of biodiversity is currently supported within ecotones?

If the majority of animal species are unable to change their behavior rapidly enough in response to continuing habitat degradation- and successfully exploit human-induced ecotones- then should we be broaching the questions of Myers and Knoll (2001, p. 5390): ‘Does the future include a proliferation of opportunistic species or emergent novelties?’ and ‘will the environmental constraints humans place on surviving populations channel innovation toward properties we associate with pests?’

Meanwhile, the value of ecotones, edges, and unprotected areas to wildlife conservation is being increasingly recognized (see The Ecology and Management of Aquatic-Terrestrial Ecotones by Naiman and Decamps) or, perhaps, emphasized, in light of the loss of primary habitat.

I believe that most species possess a latent capacity to invade and exploit ecotones; however, each ecotone is unique and needs to be considered in the context of the broader spatial dynamics of its landscape.

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For an intelligible, although somewhat quixotic, account of habitat shifting by birds see this article in Orion Magazine.