Where do camels belong? : the story and science of invasive species/ Ken Thompson.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-242) and index.

Where do camels belong? -- Species on the move. Species and continents ; Relicts, refugia, and ice ages ; Migrations, ocean dispersal, and islands ; Dispersal by humans ; What a long, strange trip it's been -- A short history of nativeness. What is native? ; War and peace ; The value of nativeness ; The conservation imperative ; Follow the money ; The rest of this book -- First some bad news, Brown tree snake ; Zebra mussel ; Tamarisk ; Purple loosestrife -- Guilty as charged? Purple loosestrife ; Tamarisk ; Zebra mussel ; OK, but what about the brown tree snake?-- If it's nice, it must be native. The native British flora ; Hares, rabbit, and crayfish ; Beavers in Britain ; The misunderstood dingo ; Caribbean raccoons ; The tangled tale of the pool frog ; Nativeness under attack -- A short course in ecology. Some niche theories ; Testing niche theory ; Niches and invasions ; Aliens and global biodiversity ; Lessons from history -- Spotting the bad guys. Winners and losers ; Two rather unsuccessful theories ; A slightly better theory ; Acclimatisation societies -- Out of control. Aliens and islands ; A mainland example : the devil's claw ; Useful aliens ; Biological control and a tale of two snails ; Aliens and the law -- No going back. Making the best of aliens ; A longer perspective ; Alien evolution ; Evolution of the invaded ; The tip of the iceberg -- Levelling the playing field. Deliberate introductions : the strange tale of the harlequin ladybird ; Gardeners' world ; Japanese knotweed : lice to the rescue -- Five myths about invasions. #1, Alien invasions reduce biodiversity and ecosystem function ; #2, Alien species cost us a fortune ; #3, Aliens are always to blame ; #4, Aliens are out to get us ; #5, Aliens are bad, natives good. -- Where do we go from here?