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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 is the tone of the ending of the book?

2. What turnover rate did Wilson and MacArthur predict for Krakatau?

3. How was the minimum viable population theory applied in Texas?

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

5. Which theory is Quammen supporting when he cites the work of William Newmark?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was the effect of 'An Equilibrium Theory of Insular Zoogeography', according to Quammen?

3. What was Quammen looking for at Aru?

4. How does Quammen's argument circle back to its origins in chapter nine, "World in Pieces"?

5. What did Simberloff and Abele propose as a result of their data?

6. What note does Quammen end 'The Song of the Dodo' on?

7. What is the definition of 'viable' in Quammen's account?

8. What factors affected the populations on an island, according to 'An Equilibrium Theory of Insular Zoogeography'?

9. How did Krakatau serve as evidence for MacArthur and Wilson's thesis?

10. What is Quammen doing at the end of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do you think the earth itself could become an island for the human species? How could the theories Quammen describes in plants and animals apply to human beings in the future? Describe a scenario in which human beings could have to demonstrate the same adaptive techniques other animals showed on islands.

Essay Topic 2

What is Quammen's conclusion in the debate over the size of nature reserves? Does he support building small or large reserves? How does he arrive at his conclusion?

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the scientific methods used to measure and assess island biogeography. What do we gain by way of insight and understanding? What patterns or trends does the data fail to account for?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 782 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample