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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through So Huge A Bignes.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What family does Quammen say hippopotamuses and deer belong to?
(a) Anamnia.
(b) Marsupials.
(c) Monorhina.
(d) Ungulates.

3. How would you describe Quammen's vocabulary?
(a) Technical and precise.
(b) Off-hand.
(c) Sophisticated.
(d) Familiar.

4. Who does Quammen say typically collected insects?
(a) Wealthy Brits.
(b) Ambitious young Americans.
(c) Hunters in the Amazon.
(d) The most devoted scientists.

5. What traits did sailors notice in animals on remote islands?
(a) They were more varied than species on land.
(b) They adapted more quickly to environmental changes than animals on larger land masses.
(c) They were smaller and harder to observe than their counterparts on land.
(d) They were unafraid of humans, and thus easy prey.

Short Answer Questions

1. What ecosystem does Wallace distinguish from ecosystems that developed in isolation?

2. What is the tone of Quammen's writing in the opening chapter?

3. What question does Quammen say was debated for years after Darwin's theories were published?

4. What was the first species to arrive in Krakatau after the eruption?

5. What is the first example Quammen cites of a species that has gone extinct?

(see the answer key)

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