Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion

by Alan Burdick

Book Overview

Now as never before, exotic animals and plants are crossing the globe, borne on the swelling tide of human traffic to places where nature never intended them to be. Bird-eating snakes hitchhike to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374219737
• ISBN13: 9780374219734
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Snakes, copepods and NASA's contribution

A growing debate over "saving" endangered species has generated a rise in ecological studies. We too often view the issues raised in these discussion in too large a framework. Dams and chemicals savage habitat. Denuded rainforests reduce rain and reduce oxygen output. Disruption of the "balance of nature" must be stopped and reversed, according to environmental campaigners. There is another element rarely considered in ecological studies - how humans have been and are introducing new species into global habitats. Alan Burdick spent much of the past decade talking to the people who are investigating this phenomenon. This book is the result of his "odyssey". In a superb investigating account, he reveals what work has been achieved and what more is needed. Both accomplishments and unfinished studies are staggering in their scope and importance. Opening his travel narrative with one of the more noted ecological disasters, he tours Guam, where an Australian reptile, the brown tree snake, devastated the indigenous species. Guam's isolation had protected its wildlife from major predators and thus was vulnerable to this invader. From the mid-Pacific, he visits Hawai'i [which he's careful to spell correctly, but only for a while]. The snake has almost certainly arrived in that State, but has been preceded by more notorious invaders - rats, goats and pigs. In Hawai'i, the pig occupies a less absolute value as an "alien" species. The Polynesian settlers brought pigs of their own all those hundreds of years ago. This "domestic" version is a major item in Hawai'ian culture, and hunting it is beset with ritual. It is reputed to be less destructive than the "wild" pigs left by Cook and other Europeans. Burdick explains how its uprooting practices might add new habitat to forest species. It is at this point that he introduces the problem of assessing just what values we must consider in determining what is "natural". With millennia of species' movements throughout the world, humans don't have sufficient record of how various organisms have shifted location and how much they might have changed original habitats. The introduction of the brown tree snake is set in time - post World War II. How do we compare that to Darwin's Finches on the Galapagos? New species either fit into the existing environment or change it to a new stability. Burdick examines these questions in both biological and philosophical frameworks. Yet, as he makes clear, the philosophical resolution must await more research information. For more detailed biological research Burdick returns to the mainland. Travelling with Jim Carlton, one of the heroes of this tale, he follows a team around San Francisco Bay. The Bay, a major Pacific port, receives millions of litres of "ballast water" every year. Picked up at points of origin almost anywhere in the world, this water keeps ships stable. The water, with all the marine organisms it contains, is dumped on arrival. Ji

A Most Worthy Read

A worthy and timely read, providing a provocative and literary exploration of a topic that is of growing prominence and debate. It is a book to love for its exploration of a fascinating and timely subject, for the writing itself, and for Burdick's adeptness at taking the reader along for a remarkable exploration. Burdick deserves high praise (which he is getting - see professional reviews) for the width and breadth of his research, travels and writing. The writing is wonderfully descriptive and poetic, the facts, processes and theories of invasive species biology and research are artfully described. These qualities, I believe, assure that the book will prove stimulating and readily enjoyable to readers who might not stray into the natural history and science fields otherwise.

Fantastic Book!!

This book is amazing! It combines scientific insight and thoughtful reflection into a funny, moving and incredibly smart read. The reporting on hilarious and bizarre species, plankton in ballast water, exploding snake populations, bacteria on its way to Mars, reframes the world into a roiling crowd of serendipitous explorers and opportunists, making you understand that aliens are alive, well, and reshaping the world we live in, ready or not. But better, the author is able to see himself through the same lens, reflecting on all of us as opportunists and explorers. His passages about seeing himself in the same impulses that lead to such invasions were for me the most memorable-- moving, funny, and touching. This book transcends the popular science genre, and gets deep.

Excellent Book

Who knew that a book about such a serious topic could be so witty and fun to read. Burdick takes the reader on an excellent world tour -- and he makes a the best sort of travel companion. If you're tired of the shrill discourse that surrounds ecological matters, you'll welcome this book. Burdick has no axe to grind. He clearly went out to report on this complicated topic with an open mind. What does it mean to label something an invasive species? Can a non-native spieces increase the biodiversity of an ecosystem? Given that humans are the ultimate invasive species, what are our hopes for curbing the spread of other organisms? It's enjoyable to watch a savvy and smart journalist really think about these questions.