From Ben Haller, Ithaca, New York, US
I was shocked by Lawton’s claim that the artificiality of ecosystems dominated by invasive species doesn’t matter. He notes that Hawaii is now a hotchpotch of mostly invasive and introduced species. That’s true – and the harm caused is incalculable. More than half of honeycreepers, a group of bird species endemic to Hawaii, have gone extinct since humans reached the islands and almost all the rest are now threatened.
More than 100 species of Hawaiian plants are already extinct and hundreds more are vulnerable. Lawton claims most invasive species don’t pose a threat to native biodiversity. Most don’t, but the ones that do cause immense damage.
