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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Coming Thing.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Wilson and MacArthur postulate according to Quammen?
(a) That extinction only began when began to travel to new islands.
(b) That extinctions followed a predictable timeline following colonization.
(c) That extinction was a regular event on islands.
(d) That once an island developed a full range of species, extinction was rare.

2. Where does Quammen say isolates can occur?
(a) In the bottoms of lakes.
(b) Only in areas separated by steep mountains or deserts.
(c) Only on islands.
(d) On islands and on land.

3. When does a species' dispersal ability become important, according to Quammen?
(a) When a species is threatened by new predators.
(b) When the species is isolated by mountain ranges or lakes.
(c) When an island loses all its life after a catastrophic event.
(d) When a species is forced to find new food sources.

4. What did the dodo eat?
(a) Insects.
(b) Small mammals and snakes.
(c) Fruit.
(d) Other birds.

5. What doe Quammen say about this rule?
(a) It is highly controversial.
(b) It is still not established as accepted science.
(c) It required enormous statistical calculations to arrive at it.
(d) It is intuitive, but also more complicated.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did Krakatau erupt?

2. What turnover rate did Wilson and MacArthur predict for Krakatau?

3. What were the first plants to arrive after the eruption of Krakatau?

4. What is the difference between an isolate and a sample?

5. How many species would an island of 4,000 square miles have, according to Quammen?

(see the answer key)

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