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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Man Who Knew Islands.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Quammen say Wallace developed in South America?
(a) A sharp eye for different traits in insects.
(b) A terrifying vision of the destruction of ecosystems.
(c) A clear vision of the profits to be made in providing scientists with specimens.
(d) A deep devotion to the science of zoology.

2. Where did Quammen go to study temrecs?
(a) Sri Lanka.
(b) Galapagos.
(c) Madagascar.
(d) New Zealand.

3. How does Quammen describe the efforts of other scientists?
(a) Holistic.
(b) Insufficient.
(c) Partial.
(d) Pedantic.

4. What ecosystem does Wallace distinguish from ecosystems that developed in isolation?
(a) Ecosystems where great complexity developed out of local conditions.
(b) Ecosystems that had been part of a larger land mass, but broke away.
(c) Ecosystems where people had introduced new species.
(d) Ecosystems that were simplified over time.

5. What is Quammen really describing as he imagines the hacked up rug?
(a) Loss of communication from one region to the next.
(b) Loss of environment to development.
(c) The spread of pathogens.
(d) Fragmented ecosystems.

Short Answer Questions

1. What advice did Darwin receive from his friends, with regard to Wallace's work?

2. What was the special creation theory?

3. What does Quammen say makes his field important?

4. What does David Quammen invoke as he describes cutting the rug?

5. What is the term that encompasses David Quammen's overall idea?

(see the answer key)

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