Feral Future: The Untold Story of Australia’s Exotic Invaders

AUSTRALIAN FAUNA

AS NEW COPY! Tells the story of the biological invasion of Australia. Tapping a rich vein of scientific data, fascinating stories and personal experience, Low argues convincingly that bio-invasion poses a threat more ominous than greenhouse gases, industrial pollution and ozone depletion. #1120R/0221/200322 xix, 380 p. ; 23 cm. Two decades ago, Tim Low journeyed to the remote northernmost tip of Australia. Instead of the pristine rain forests he expected, he found jungles infested with Latin American carpet grass and feral cattle. That incident helped inspire Feral Future, a passionate account of the history and implications of invasive species in that island nation, with consequences for ecological communities around the globe.Australia is far from alone in facing horrific ecological and economic damage from invading plants and animals, and in Low’s capable hands, Australia’s experiences serve as a wake-up call for all of us. He covers how invasive species like cane toads and pond apple got to Australia (often through misguided but intentional introductions) and what we can do to stop them. He also covers the many pests that Australia has exported to the world, including the paperbark tree (Melaleuca) that infests hundreds of thousands of acres in south Florida.
Biological invasions — Australia. | Exotic plants — Australia. | Plant introduction — Australia. | Pest introduction — Australia. | Animal introduction — Australia. | Ecology — Australia. ISBN 10: 0670884650 ISBN 13: 9780670884650

pp. xiii, 394 illusts #010223