Book Review: Where Do Camels Belong? by Ken Thompson
July 11, 2014
In Britain, this invaluable book is subtitled The Story and Science of Invasive Species; in North America, the more provocative subtitle is Why Invasive Species Aren't All Bad. Both are appropriate; look dispassionately at the science and it’s clear that invasive species are not all bad.
So often, discussions of the whole issue of natives and non-natives (plants, animals, insects and the rest) are run through with the repetition of bold assertions, unproven by science, that it’s a relief to find a book in which the whole issue is viewed more calmly, in a broad context, considered over time, and backed by solid science. It's just what we need: more unbiased science and less thoughtless hysteria – and that is what this book provides. And it’s all presented in a lively, and very readable.
Ken Thompson discusses how we define “native” and how we stretch our objective definitions to take account of subjective impulses; he reveals how little we actually know about so many non-native species and how very few ever cause problems; he examines whether the most hated invasive species really are as destructive as we’re told and points out that some have positive impacts; he discusses how natives and non-natives can happily co-exist in the same habitat; he applies science to the myths surrounding invasive species.
One of the striking features of the response to the presence of non-native plants, in North America in particular, is the frequency with which they’re simply removed – just in case – rather than studied. As Dr Thompson points out, the proportion of non-natives that arrive in natural habitats and end up causing problems is minute. And when non-natives are studied over the long term, we sometimes find that their initial dominance is followed by a sharp decline followed by a stable balance.
I won't steal the author’s thunder by summarizing his invaluable discussion of how we define the word “native”, except to say that picking any date as a cut-off point after which an arriving species is declared an alien is clearly arbitrary and ignores the fact that ecosystems have always evolved over time and continue to do so. And suggesting that only new arrivals in natural habitats that are unassisted by man can be classified as “native” ignores the obvious fact that nowhere on the planet is unaffected by man’s influence, so nowhere is genuinely “natural” anyway.
So. What a refreshing book and one that’s full of stimulation and reminders to look at the evidence and not listen to the hearsay. This book effectively skewers the prejudices and pseudoscience of the plant police extremists for whom natives are, by definition, good and non-natives inherently bad. It should be read by anyone with an interest in native and non-native plants, by those working in the field, and also by natural history and garden writers like me - so we don't simply repeat misconceptions in our work. The book is stimulating and refreshing: as soon as I got to the end I immediately started again at the beginning. [The anwser to the book's title, by the way, is a fascinating one. Needless to say, it's not what you think.]
Where Do Camels Belong?: The story and science of invasive species by Ken Thompson is published in Britain by Profile Books. It will be published in North America as Where Do Camels Belong?: Why Invasive Species Aren't All Bad by Greystone Books in September. North American readers who are eager to read it before September can order the British edition from amazon.com.