Name:__________________________________
Environment Issues
April_____, 2013
Chapter 11 Book Reading Assessment
Sustaining Biodiversity: The Species Approach
1.
True or False: The passenger pigeon became extinct because of habitat loss.
2. ______________ extinction occurs when so few members of a species are left that they cannot play
their ecological role.
a. Biological
b. Ecological
c. Environmental
d. Local
3. If a species occurs in many areas, but not in others, it has undergone ____________ extinction.
a. Biological
b. Ecological
c. Evolutionary
d. Local
4. True or False: A threatened species may still be abundant.
5. Bats are vulnerable to extinction because
a. Bats are unable to find food to eat
b. People kill them for food
c. They live in caves and old mines that get blocked by humans
d. They reproduce in large numbers but have high infant mortality rates
6. ___________ is the greatest threat to wild species populations
a. Habitat loss
b. Hunting
c. Nonnative species
d. Predation
7. In the United States, most habitat destruction occurs in the interest of
a. Agriculture
b. Recreation
c. Real estate development
d. Pesticide use
8. When a large habitat is reduced to a series of fragmented, small sections, each section becomes a
a. Foundation habitat
b. Habitat island
c. Habitat reserve
d. New habitat
9. True or False: All nonnative species are dangerous and should be eradicated
10. Feral cats ___________ deliberately introduced nonnative species.
a. Are
b. Are not
11. ___________ is the third largest and most lucrative illegal cross-border smuggling activity after arms and
drugs.
a. Illegal immigration
b. Smuggling wildlife
12. True or False: Keeping parrots as pets put the species at risk of extinction.
13. Which of the following has not limited the ability of CITES to reduce international trade of threatened
species?
a. Enforcement is difficult
b. Member countries can exempt themselves from protecting any particular species
c. Not all countries have signed the treaty, and so trade goes on in those countries
d. The fines, while very large, are hard to collect.
14. True or False: Once a species makes the Endangered Species list, a plan automatically goes into effect to
protect it.
15. What is a seed bank?
a. An arboretum
b. An experimental, organic farm
c. Initial funding for an environmental restoration project
d. Storage of seeds for future use
16. Reconciliation ecology
a. Calls for us to first help the species we have hurt the most.
b. Invents habitats.
c. Is a debt-for-nature swap.
d. Provides financial remuneration for habitat destruction.
17. True or False: Widespread use of pesticide DDT in the 1950s and 60s caused populations of fish eating
birds such as the osprey, cormorant, brown pelican, and bald eagle to plummet.
18. Which of the following did not contribute to the extinction of the passenger pigeon?
a. Uncontrolled hunting
b. DDT-induced weakening of egg shells
c. Habitat loss
d. A natural instinct for flocking
19. Which term describes the situation where a species no longer exists in a given area, but still occurs in
other areas?
a. Biological extinction
b. Ecological extinction
c. Local extinction
d. Background extinction
20. What is the difference between an endangered species and a threatened species?
a. A threatened species is becoming endangered specifically because of human activities
b. A threatened species was previously labeled endangered but has increased its numbers
c. There is no difference. The two herms are interchangeable.
d. A threatened species is still abundant now but likely to become endangered in the near future.
21. Why should we preserve wild species?
a. All of the choices
b. They provide important economic and ecological services
c. Wild species allow us to learn how nature works and use that information for genetic research.
d. They provide recreational pleasure
22. Which of the following represents the greatest threat to wild species populations?
a. Habitat loss
b. Hunting for sport
c. Genetic engineering
d. Collecting for zoos and botanical gardens
23. Which of the following is a basic cause of deleting a premature extinction of species?
a. Tropical deforestation
b. Habitat loss
c. Population growth
d. Nonnative species
24. The Japanese Knotweed is an example of _____________.
a. An indicator species
b. An endemic species
c. A keystone species
d. A nonnative species
25. ____________ is/are a common source of the introduction of nonnative species.
a. Ballast water
b. Pet shops
c. Poaching
d. All of the choices
26. The ____________ has been almost eliminated because ranchers have poisoned them.
a. Coyote
b. Prairie dog
c. Kudzu vine
d. Feral boar
27. True or False: Most bird populations affected by DDT have still not recovered.
28. Which of the following restricts the international trade in endangered species?
a. The Lacey Act
b. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
c. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
d. The Endangered Species Act (ESA)
29. What does the Endangered Species Act do?
a. All of the choices
b. Makes it illegal to sell or buy any product made from an endangered or threatened species
c. Requires the protection of critical habitat for endangered species
d. Bases decisions about a species’ status on biological criteria, not economic criteria
30. Which of the following was not a recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences to make the
Endangered Species Act more effective?
a. Increase funding for the ESA
b. Develop recovery plans more quickly
c. Eliminate habitat conservation subsidies to private landowners
d. Create a core emergency habitat when species are first listed
31. The world’s botanical gardens and arboreta contain what percentage of the world’s rare and threatened
plant species?
a. 3%
b. 10%
c. 33%
d. 50%
32. ____________ farms are protecting species of this organism.
a. Passenger pigeon
b. Lion
c. Butterfly
d. Crocodile
33. What is the definition of reconciliation ecology?
a. Establishing and maintaining new habitats for species diversity in places where people live and
work
b. Paying a fee for the destruction of habitat
c. Replacing destroyed habitat, such as wetlands, with newly created habitat
d. Establishing remote “reservations” for species diversity
34. True or False: If rapid global climate change takes place it is unlikely to significantly affect biodiversity.