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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Message From Aru.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many Mauritius kestrels were still in existence at the species' lowest point?
(a) Two.
(b) Four.
(c) Nine.
(d) Twelve.

2. Who is Owen Griffiths?
(a) A bird researcher in Australia.
(b) A monkey researcher in Mauritius.
(c) A sailor from the 18th century.
(d) An insect researcher in Madagascar.

3. What is the central message of Quammen's book?
(a) Unless something is done soon, we will lose much of our wilderness, and many species of plants and animals.
(b) Ingenuity and hard work can save the habitats and protect the breeding populations of many animals that might be lost.
(c) Habitat destruction is breaking ecosystems into islands, but species can survive in islands.
(d) The twenty-first century will see unprecedented species loss.

4. What does Quammen say an island is?
(a) An isolate.
(b) A replica of other ecosystems.
(c) A fundamentally unique environment.
(d) A sample.

5. When does a species' dispersal ability become important, according to Quammen?
(a) When the species is isolated by mountain ranges or lakes.
(b) When a species is threatened by new predators.
(c) When an island loses all its life after a catastrophic event.
(d) When a species is forced to find new food sources.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many individuals were thought to be necessary to prevent harmful inbreeding?

2. How many species did Wilson and MacArthur predict would establish an equilibrium in Krakatau?

3. What was Thomas Lovejoy's interest in the debate about the size of reserves and the number of species they support?

4. What rule governs the relationship between the size of an island and the number of species it can support?

5. How did humans hurt the dodo population indirectly?

(see the answer key)

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