Name: ___________________________________ Date: __________ P.___
Print and answer these questions on this paper.
1. How does the story of Borneo exemplify the idea of ecosystems and the
interaction of organisms (specifically the importance of all organisms in
that ecosystem)?
The story illustrates how interconnected species are in ecosystems, one
cannot exist in balance without the rest.
2: How does the story exemplify how humans (in our attempt to fix one
thing), cause unforeseeable problems in ecosystems?
Through the humans attempts to be rid of one problem others arise, an
example is how DDT meant to eradicate mosquitos had no harm on
caterpillars that ate the thatching of their roofs, but harmed their
predators the lizards.
3: Explain how a toxin in a food web will harm some while killing otherswhy did the mosquitos and cats die while other things lived? (hint:
research bioaccumulation & biomagnification)
The higher on the foodchain, the more of things are exposed. In this
case, the larger the predator, the higher the content of a toxin
(bioaccumulation). Cats and lizards died as they had a larger
accumulation of the toxin than say, the caterpillars.
4: Explain why you think DDT has been banned in the U.S. but is still in
production and used in countries all over the world.
The US is a much more industrialized country than many, with a better
education system, and is much richer. Other less developed countries
may not have proper education about the effects of DDT to citizens, and
it’s the cheapest option available to them.
5: If DDT is still being used around the world, but not in the U.S.- are we
still exposed to it? (Explain).
Yes, there are many trace amounts of DDT left as the pesticide takes a
long time to dissolve.
6: Do you think scientists should have sprayed the island with DDT? If
not, what should they have done about the Malaria issue?
No, a more viable solution would have been to introduce more of native
mosquito predators and natural repellants to be made more accessible.
Create a food chain below of the organisms in the story.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Mosquito
Caterpillar
Lizards
Rats
Cats