There's also misdirection elsewhere – I am sure I read the dangers of the Harlequin ladybird in its march from America – although it's not American, and might have a purpose in the end. Who was on the throne of the UK when the collared dove was first in the wild? Our current queen was, that's who.

Many people in a silly survey a few years ago voted for 'official' 'county flowers' and picked a host of foreign imports. Rabbits came over to Britain with the Romans northern America had horses until they became extinct 8,000 years ago – then lo and behold the Spanish put them back. One problem is that the definition of an invasive species is more than woolly. And the end results might be much more damaging. In much the same way the Daily Mail et al have their own attitudes to immigrants of the human kind, so it would appear do many people have similar notions about immigrant species. So says our author, and you can easily fall into agreeing with him after reading his book.

Much of what passes for invasion biology is poorly supported hype. Interesting and clear, but I wished the book had more of a compelling touch to generate more purpose. He discusses, too, whether our fears could be getting in the way of conserving biodiversity, and responding to the threat of climate change.Summary: The case of the unwanted spider in the bathtub, magnified to a global scale. Ken Thompson puts forward a fascinating array of narratives to explore what he sees as the crucial question - why only a minority of introduced species succeed, and why so few of them go on to cause trouble. We have all heard the horror stories of invasives, from Japanese knotweed that puts fear into the heart of gardeners to brown tree snakes that have taken over the island of Guam.īut do we need to fear invaders? And indeed, can we control them, and do we choose the right targets?

This is a classic example of the contradictions of 'native' and 'invasive' species, a hot issue right now, as the flip-side of biodiversity.

They evolved in North America, retain their greatest diversity in South America, and the only remaining wild dromedaries are in Australia. Where do camels belong? In the Arab world may seem the obvious answer, but they are relative newcomers there.

Where do camels belong book