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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was the species Quammen sought called by locals?
(a) Ranuren.
(b) Majib.
(c) Mistoquot.
(d) Cenderwasih.

2. When did Wilson and MacArthur publish 'An Equilibrium Theory of Insular Zoogeography'?
(a) 1963.
(b) 1982.
(c) 1967.
(d) 1998.

3. What was Lovejoy's strategy in his plan?
(a) To diminish the size of nature reserves and track the number of species over time.
(b) To exterminate all animals in an area and study how the area was repopulated.
(c) To import animals into nature reserves.
(d) Count the number of species in rainforest islands.

4. What would Carl Jones feed to the wild Mauritius kestrels?
(a) Mice.
(b) Bread.
(c) Snakes.
(d) Rats.

5. What was the result of the experiment Wilson and MacArthur undertook to prove their Krakatau hypothesis?
(a) The data showed that repopulation brought much more variety than had originally existed.
(b) The data matched their predictions.
(c) The data showed that repopulation was much faster than predicted.
(d) The data showed that repopulation was much slower than predicted.

6. What was Lovejoy's response to the questions Simberloff and Abele raised?
(a) He tried to keep nature reserves close to one another.
(b) He created smaller nature reserves.
(c) He created larger nature reserves.
(d) He designed a controlled experiment of his own.

7. Why, according to Quammen, is the theory of equilibrium important to science?
(a) Because it models species extinction worldwide.
(b) Because it can be used to predict human emigrations.
(c) Because it is a model for human populations.
(d) Because it applies to mainland populations.

8. How does Quammen's visit to Aru compare with Wallace's?
(a) It pales in comparison.
(b) It creates another new field of scientific inquiry.
(c) It provides a closing chapter to something Wallace began in the nineteenth century.
(d) It inspires another revolutionary concept about evolution.

9. What does Lawrence Abele study?
(a) Komodo dragons.
(b) Coral.
(c) Birds.
(d) Tasmanian tigers.

10. Where does Quammen say the theory of island ecology now applies?
(a) In caves.
(b) In mountainous regions.
(c) In microclimates.
(d) In the mainlands as well.

11. How does Quammen's tone change in the final chapter?
(a) His even-handedness gives way to persistent pessimism about the destruction of habitat.
(b) His description of the trip is not scientific, just tourism.
(c) His discomfort with habitat loss is finally made screamingly clear.
(d) His narrative is filled with detailed scientific observations.

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

13. What did this species do in the location where Quammen was told to look for them?
(a) Hibernated.
(b) Fed.
(c) Mated.
(d) Migrated.

14. What had happened to the smaller reserves in Lovejoy's plan?
(a) They unraveled quickly.
(b) They swelled with species.
(c) They arrived at an equilibrium with a higher density than some larger reserves.
(d) They took longer to arrive at an equilibrium of species.

15. What was Lovejoy trying to determine with his plan?
(a) An ideal number of species per acre.
(b) A critical number of ecosystems for a conservation strategy.
(c) An ideal number of reserves for a landscape.
(d) An ideal size for a nature reserve.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why were people cutting down the forests in the place where Lovejoy implemented his plan?

2. How did Quammen make his way to this site?

3. What data does William Newmark look at in his studies?

4. What does Quammen believe happened to Bedo?

5. What distinguished this species for Quammen? Wallace had discovered it there a hundred years ago. Darwin had developed his theory of evolve from observing it. Englishmen had lost their fortunes hunting for specimens.

(see the answer keys)

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