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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What assumption does Quammen make at the end of his introductory chapter?
(a) That people are willing to change their habits in order to save ecosystems.
(b) That people are outraged about the disappearance of species.
(c) That people don't know anything about his field.
(d) That people are hungry for economic growth, even at the expense of ecosystems.

2. How would you describe Quammen's narrative of the dodo's decline and extinction?
(a) Detailed hypothesis.
(b) Speculation.
(c) Ungrounded fiction.
(d) Detailed narrative.

3. What is the first example Quammen cites of a species that has gone extinct?
(a) The passenger pigeon in North America.
(b) The Manatee in Florida.
(c) The dodo.
(d) The tiger in Bali.

4. What were Frank Preston's findings in plotting the distribution of species in island habitats?
(a) A random relationship between size of island and commonness of species.
(b) An indirect proportion to represent commonness of species.
(c) A direct proportion to represent commonness of species.
(d) A bell curve to represent commonness of species.

5. What did Frank Preston study?
(a) Species distribution.
(b) Species divergence.
(c) Predator-prey relations.
(d) Adaptive radiation.

6. How many species of the animal Philip Darlington studied did an island of four square miles possess?
(a) 88.
(b) 5.
(c) 217.
(d) 2.

7. What does Quammen say about the overall pattern on this hypothetical rug?
(a) It is ruined.
(b) It only exists in nostalgia.
(c) It can still be reassembled.
(d) It is theoretical, now.

8. What did Philip Darlington propose?
(a) A set of formula that measure biodiversity.
(b) A mathematical ratio between island area and number of species.
(c) A correction that makes this rule broadly applicable.
(d) A set of exceptions to this rule.

9. What tragedy struck Wallace on his return to England?
(a) He became sick and nearly died.
(b)
(c) Someone else arrived in England a few weeks before him with similar specimens.
(d) He lost his specimens and notes in a shipwreck.

10. What were theories of species evolution based on in Wallace's time?
(a) Science.
(b) Superstition.
(c) Guesses.
(d) Religion.

11. How do scientists relate data from samples and isolates to larger areas?
(a) Speculation.
(b) Interpolation.
(c) Prediction.
(d) Extrapolation.

12. What surprising dispersal ability does Quammen say elephants have?
(a) Ability to swim long distances.
(b) Ability to go without water for weeks.
(c) Ability to be carried on wind currents.
(d) Ability to be carried in other animals' fur.

13. Who did Robert Bates work with?
(a) Wallace.
(b) Quammen.
(c) Wilson.
(d) Darwin.

14. What family does Quammen say hippopotamuses and deer belong to?
(a) Monorhina.
(b) Marsupials.
(c) Anamnia.
(d) Ungulates.

15. What did Frank Preston say made up the majority of species in any ecosystem?
(a) A large number of fairly common species.
(b) A few very common species.
(c) A few very rare species.
(d) A large number of small animals that served as food for a number of larger animals.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Quammen say isolates can occur?

2. What is the term that encompasses David Quammen's overall idea?

3. How would you describe Quammen's style?

4. What traits did sailors notice in animals on remote islands?

5. What is the Guam rail?

(see the answer keys)

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