Visualizing Environmental Science

Critical and Creative Thinking Questions 157

11. How could you test the hypothesis you proposed in
    question 10? What type of evidence might you produce?


12. Which biome discussed in this chapter is depicted
    by the information in the graph below? Explain your
    answer.


13. Although most salamanders have four legs, the aquatic
    salamander shown below resembles an eel. It lacks hind
    limbs and has very tiny forelimbs. Propose a hypothesis
    to explain how these salamanders evolved according to
    Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

Critical and Creative Thinking Questions

1. What two climate factors are most important in determining
   an area’s characteristic biome?


2. In which biome do you live? Where would you place your
   biome in the figure below? What human-caused threats
   are faced by your biome, and how might you help
   reduce them? Which other biomes might be affected
   by your lifestyle, such as the foods you eat or other
   resources you consume?

Decreasing precipitation

Arctic

Increasing latitude

Tropics

Wet Dry

Decreasing temperature

Cold

Hot

Sustainable Citizen Question

3. What environmental factors are most important in determining
   the kinds of organisms found in aquatic environments?


4. Distinguish between freshwater wetlands and estuaries and
   between flowing-water and standing-water ecosystems.


5. Name and compare temperate and tropical estuaries. What
   types of plants are characteristic of each?


6. During the mating season, male giraffes slam their necks
   together in fighting bouts to determine which male is
   stronger and can therefore mate with females. Explain how
   the long necks of giraffes may have evolved, using Darwin’s
   theory of evolution by natural selection.


7. Explain why evolution, by definition, cannot take place within
   one individual and during that individual’s life span.


8. Describe the process and stages of ecological succession.


9. Which type of ecological succession do you think occurred
   in the region surrounding Mount St. Helens after the volcano
   erupted in 1980? Explain your choice by comparing primary
   and secondary succession.

Joseph T. Collins/Science Source Images

precipitationAverage annualtemperatureAverage annualmineralsLevel of soil

Low

Medium

High

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