Chapter 9

18 questions

1. Passenger pigeons no longer exist anywhere in the world. We say that they have undergone

biological extinction.

local extinction.

ecological extinction.

mass extinction.

2. Natural or background species extinction rates are about

1 species / 1,000,000 species per year.

1 species / 100 species per year.

1 species / 100,000 species per year.

1 species / 1,000 species per year.

3. The last major mass extinction occurred 65 million years ago, at which point all of the dinosaurs were lost. What do we believe caused this mass extinction?

asteroid or comet colliding with the earth

habitat degradation by humans

hunting by early humans

major volcanic eruptions

4. California condors, black rhinos, and mountain gorillas all have this in common:

all live in Africa.

all are hunted for their meat.

all are on the threatened or endangered list.

all are mammals.

5. When the focus for saving a species from extinction is what that species can do for humans, we say that it has ________ value.

ecological

existence

use

bequest

6. An example of existence value might be

knowing that the spotted owl is saved from extinction, even if I never see one.

photographing tropical birds.

all of the choices

knowing that the panda will be saved from extinction so that future human generations can appreciate it.

7. A bioprospector might search a tropical rainforest for species

all of the choices

that have chemicals potentially useful as medicinal drugs.

that could be used to entice tourists for ecotourism.

that are related to domesticated crops, looking for genetic diversity.

8. Saving the blue whale from extinction simply because it has as much right to exist as humans or any other species is based on its ________ value.

use

intrinsic

non-use

ecological

9. Wanting to exterminate all great white sharks because of fear, loathing, repulsion, etc., might best be called

the Precautionary Principle.

biophilia.

mass extinction.

biophobia.

10. Which of the following is false?

Extinction would occur whether humans were present or absent.

Humans have caused the extinction of many species.

Extinction is a natural process. Humans have no affect on extinction.

Extinction is a natural process, although humans may increase its rate.

11. The U.S. state with the highest extinction rate is

Alaska.

Hawaii.

California.

Florida.

12. Major causes of habitat fragmentation include

major storm damage (tornado, hurricane, etc.).

climate change.

fire.

logging, agriculture, and urban development.

13. Which statement is true?

With a few notorious exceptions, deliberately introduced (non-native) species are usually beneficial to new habitats.

Introduced species do not harm their new environment because there is always some native organism that will keep it in check.

Introduced species always create problems.

Many introduced species are quite important to us, while many others cause environmental devastation.

14. Giant African land snails, kudzu, and European wild boars all have this in common in the U.S.:

they are native to where they now exist.

they are deliberately introduced, non-native species that are creating environmental havoc.

they are non-native organisms that have helped their new habitats.

they were accidentally introduced non-native species that are now in balance with their habitats.

15. A chemical pollutant becomes incorporated into body tissues at a certain concentration. Predators eating many such organisms concentrate the chemical even more. This increasing concentration in higher tropic levels is called

increased toxicity.

bioaccumulation.

biomagnification.

accidental introduction.

16. Poaching of wild animals is usually for

the skin.

the whole animal.

all of the choices

various body parts.

17. Seed banks

all of the choices

store agricultural seed and sell it at low prices to poor farmers of developing nations.

store seed from rare and endangered species. These seeds are sold to plant collectors, with revenues used to help maintain rare and endangered species.

are long-term seed storage facilities with the purpose of preserving plant biodiversity.

18. "When substantial preliminary evidence indicates that an activity can harm human health or the environment, we should take precautionary measures to prevent or reduce such harm, even if some of the cause-and-effect relationships have not been fully established, scientifically." This is

called the Precautionary Principle. Although not required, it should be used to guide ecosystem research.

policy agreed upon by convention of international scientists.

a poorly thought-out ideology of extremist environmental scientists.

legislation required of all research conducted in the U.S.

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