'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.

He discusses, too, whether our fears could be getting in the way of conserving biodiversity, and responding to the threat of climate change. But do we need to fear invaders? And indeed, can we control them, and do we choose the right targets? 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. This is a classic example of the contradictions of 'native' and 'invasive' species, a hot issue right now, as the flip-side of biodiversity. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, walking, reading and supporting Plymouth Argyle football club. Ken is married with two grown-up children, and has lived in Sheffield, UK since 1990. They evolved in North America, retain their greatest diversity in South America, and the only remaining wild dromedaries are in Australia. His latest book is Where do Camels Belong The Story and Science of Invasive Species. Do we have any idea how many different plant species might eventually be able to coexist on an island like Hawaii? No, we don’t.Where do camels belong? In the Arab world may seem the obvious answer, but they are relative newcomers there. Moreover, the evidence suggests that remote islands are by no means ‘full’ of plants, and that there is room for even more alien plants to establish, and thus for total plant diversity to increase: at the current rate the average oceanic island will have 3 aliens for every 2 natives by 2060. Thus, although left to themselves remote islands tend to have rather few species (compared to similar continental areas at the same latitude), so many species have been introduced to Hawaii that it now has as many plants as a similar area of Mexico. Despite all these new arrivals there have been very few extinctions among the original inhabitants, so the number of plant species on such islands has approximately doubled. By 1940 the ratio was 1 alien for every 2 natives, and today the ratio is about 1:1.

In 1860 the average oceanic island had less than 1 introduced plant for every 10 natives. remote) islands found that, as far back as records exist, they have been accumulating alien plants.

Where Do Camels Belong by Ken Thompson