Patterns of Invasions by Pathogens and Parasites

Abstract

For thirty years I have read publications about this spate of invasions; and many of them preserve the atmosphere of first-hand reporting by people who have actually seen them happening, and give a feeling of urgency and scale that is absent from the drier summaries of text-books. We must make no mistake: we are seeing one of the great historical convulsions in the world's fauna and flora. We might say, with Professor Challenger, standing on Conan Doyle's `Lost World', with his black beard jutting out: `We have been privileged to be present at one of the typical decisive battles of history---the battles which have determined the fate of the world.' But how will it be decisive? Will it be a Lost World? These are questions that ecologists ought to try to answer.