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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What does Quammen say about Wilson and Macarthur's 'The Theory of Island Biogeography'?
(a) It was practically unnoticed.
(b) It was doubted at the time it was published.
(c) It was a book that changed things.
(d) Its effect was not felt for years.

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

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

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

6. What environment is NOT analogous to an island, according to Quammen?
(a) Mountaintop.
(b) Lake.
(c) Cave.
(d) Savannah.

7. How was the minimum viable population theory applied in Texas?
(a) Officials wanted to create an open season for hunting mountain lions.
(b) Officials wanted to determine how much development could take place without damaging the viability of a species of water bird.
(c) Officials wanted to know how many invasive fish they would have to kill off to collapse the population.
(d) Officials wanted to know if a dam would destroy too much habitat for an endangered snake.

8. What theory came from the research that had been performed in Aru?
(a) Social Darwinism.
(b) Natural selection.
(c) Survival of the fittest.
(d) Island biogeography.

9. When was the concept of the minimum viable population introduced?
(a) 1988.
(b) 1967.
(c) 1971.
(d) 1962.

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

11. What is a minimum viable population?
(a) The minimum number of acres necessary to preserve a population.
(b) The minimum number of offspring that need to be born in each brood to sustain the population.
(c) The minimum rate of increase to preserve the genetic health of a population.
(d) The number of individuals necessary to sustain a population.

12. What was Thomas Lovejoy's interest in the debate about the size of reserves and the number of species they support?
(a) He was in charge of setting conservation policy.
(b) He was in charge of determining whether species were endangered.
(c) He was in charge of creating natural reserves.
(d) He was in charge of government policy on forestry.

13. How does Quammen's visit to Aru compare with Wallace's?
(a) It inspires another revolutionary concept about evolution.
(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 pales in comparison.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the conclusion Soule and Gilpin came to regarding the Texas question?

2. 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.

3. What was Bedo's reputation?

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

5. How many individuals were thought to be required for long-term genetic adaptability?

(see the answer keys)

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