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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. How many individuals were thought to be necessary to prevent harmful inbreeding?

2. What had happened to the smaller reserves in Lovejoy's plan?

3. How does Quammen describe Aru?

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

5. What theory did Dan Simberloff and Lawrence Abele challenge in an article?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Quammen looking for at Aru?

2. Who was Thomas Lovejoy, and what was his reaction to the debate Simberloff and Abele began?

3. Where was Quammen sent, in order to find what he was looking for?

4. How does Quammen describe Bedo's death?

5. What did MacArthur and Wilson argue in 'An Equilibrium Theory of Insular Zoogeography'?

6. What experiment took place in the Florida Keys?

7. Why did Quammen choose Aru as the destination for his final chapter?

8. What data did Simberloff and Abele deploy in challenging this theory?

9. How is the case of the muriqui different from the case of the Mauritius kestrel?

10. What was the practical example of species management Quammen cited from Texas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Quammen minimize Darwin's accomplishment as the founder of the theory of evolution? What does he benefit by debunking Darwin's accomplishment? Is it attraction to the underdog position, do you think? Was Wallace rely a superior scientist? Is Quammen just being contentious?

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

How realistic is this book? What parts are not believable? What leaps of faith does the author require of the reader?

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