Question

Please answer all the questions not partly

Q. 1

The number of species on the planet could be estimated by:

Question 1 options choose one

	contrasting the background extinction rate to the modern extinction rate
	counting the number of dispersal and vicariance events
	comparing speciation rates to extinction rates
	considering the mutation rate and extent of genetic drift

Q 2

All of the following are likely to cause mass extinction EXCEPT:

Question 2 options:choose one

	many volcanoes erupt over a short period of time
	an area gets more rain than usual during a year
	poisonous gas released from the ocean changes the composition of the whole atmosphere
	a previously tropical continent becomes a polar continent

Q. 3

Which of the following statements BEST describes how over-specialization can affect extinction risk?

Question 3 options:choose one

	highly specialized adaptations enable a species to live anywhere on Earth, reducing the odds of extinction
	if the habitat around a specialized species changes, the species is likely to evolve new specialized adaptations
	highly specialized adaptations in a species increase the likelihood of extinction if the environment changes
	highly specialized adaptations are rare in species that occupy a very limited geographic range

Q.4

Human efforts to assess the biodiversity of different groups of living things can BEST be described as:

Question 4 options:choose one

	roughly half-way done cataloguing all species
	largely successful and nearing completion
	a complete failure since global biodiversity is too much to properly catalogue
	variably successful, with some groups needing much more attention

Q.5

Combining the fossil record and modern data has lead scientists studying extinction to conclude:

Question 5 options:choose

	current rates of extinction are much higher than that of background rates
	background extinction rates have increased steadily in the past
	new species are evolving as fast as species are becoming extinct
	the fossil record is unreliable and biased in what it records

Q.6

The most important factor increasing the risk of extinction in modern times is:

Question 6 options:choose one

	invasive species
	habitat destruction
	over-exploitation
	global climate change

Q. 7

Invasive species are:

Question 7 options:

	a product of human activities
	unaffected by global climate change
	the cause of bald eagle declines
	responsible for the fisheries crash

Answer 1

1) Comparing speciation rates to extinction rates

2) A previously tropical continant becomes a polar continant

3) Highly specialized adaptation are in a species increases the likelyhood of extinction if the environment changes

4) Variably successful, with some groups needs much more attention

5) current rates of extinction are much heigher than that of background rates

6) Global climate change

7) A product of human activities