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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Quammen use as an example of an island?

2. What does Quammen says Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace had in common?

3. How does Quammen describe the komodo dragon's territory?

4. What is the genre of The Song of the Dodo?

5. What does Quammen say makes his field important?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was MacArthur and Wilson's contribution to island biogeography?

2. What is dispersal ability and why is it important?

3. What practical assertion does Quammen say Frank Preston made based on his findings?

4. Who is Frank Preston, and what was his contribution to the discussion of island size and species count?

5. What is trophic cascade?

6. What does Quammen use the island of Tasmania as an example of?

7. List the attributes that govern the survivability of individual species in island ecosystems.

8. What is the governing metaphor in the opening chapter?

9. What concept did Wallace develop in the Malay Archipelago?

10. What took David Quammen to Madagascar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Quammen consistent from the beginning of 'The Song of the Dodo' to the end? What expectations does he establish in the beginning? Does he fulfill them, over the course of the book? Does he abandon or sidestep the question of conservation in his discussion of methods of analysis and study?

Essay Topic 2

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

Essay Topic 3

Write a review of Quammen's 'The Song of the Dodo'. What does the book do, and what does it fail to do? What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses? Would you recommend it? What would you recommend it for?

(see the answer keys)

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