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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was going to happen to the species' habitat as the Texas plan was implemented?
(a) Habitat was going to be conserved at the edge of a development.
(b) Habitat was going to be paved over.
(c) Habitat was going to be divided.
(d) Habitat was going to be conserved but with development on three sides.

2. When did the Mauritius kestrel population begin to decline?
(a) 1970s.
(b) 1930s.
(c) 1950s.
(d) 1990s.

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

4. What does Quammen describe about Bedo?
(a) His departure from his homeland.
(b) His marriage.
(c) His research projects.
(d) His tragic death.

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

6. How many indri are living in the forests Quammen visited?
(a) Thousands.
(b) Tens.
(c) No one knows.
(d) Hundreds.

7. What was Quammen told to find, in order to observe this species?
(a) The tree where they gathered.
(b) The lakes where they built nests.
(c) The burrows where they lived.
(d) The cliffs where they perched.

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

9. What theory did Dan Simberloff and Lawrence Abele challenge in an article?
(a) That extinctions take place cyclically in any ecosystem.
(b) That small, widely separated nature reserves would support a wider variety of species than nearer reserves.
(c) That large nature reserves would support more species than several small ones.
(d) That species variety is the most important indicator of ecosystem health.

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

11. What incident does Quammen relate at the end of chapter nine, "World in Pieces"?
(a) Mourning Bedo in Mauritius.
(b) Being mugged in Brazil.
(c) Hiding from poachers in Tanzania.
(d) A thunderstorm rolling through in Mexico.

12. How many Mauritius kestrels were still in existence at the species' lowest point?
(a) Four.
(b) Two.
(c) Twelve.
(d) Nine.

13. 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 narrative is filled with detailed scientific observations.
(d) His discomfort with habitat loss is finally made screamingly clear.

14. Who had performed research in Aru?
(a) Gould.
(b) Darwin.
(c) Wilson.
(d) Wallace.

15. What national disaster destroyed kestrel habitat in Mauritius?
(a) A tsunami.
(b) A cyclone.
(c) A tornado.
(d) An earthquake.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Quammen say increases as individuals breed with genetically similar individuals?

2. What strategy was Karen Strier opposed to using, for preserving the muriqui population?

3. What does Quammen say the indri's future looks like?

4. Who confirmed to Quammen that this site in fact existed?

5. What does Quammen believe happened to Bedo?

(see the answer keys)

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