Questions 19-20 are based on the following
passage. A recent assessment of the status of
global amphibian populations identified habitat
loss as the single greatest identifiable factor Line contributing to
amphibian declines. Habitat (5) loss primarily results from the
residential, agricultural, arboricultural, or
recreational development of an area.
Anthropogenic conversion of land has caused significant
reductions in the wetland, (10) forest, and grassland habitat
that amphibians require for their survival. Outright
habitat loss probably has the greatest effect on
amphibians, but habitat degradation, or the general
decline in the health of a habitat, (15) often results from
environmental contamina- tion, the introduction of exotic
invasive species, or a reduction in required
resources within a habitat, and similarly affects
amphibians. Likewise, habitat fragmentation (20) (the
disruption or fragmentation of habitat into discontinuous or
isolated remnants of viable habitat) emerges from isolated
patches of habitat loss and can often have delayed
effects on animal populations. Directions: For the
following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that
apply. Which of the following statements about habitat loss is supported by
the passage
A. The role of habitat loss in the decline of global amphibian populations
is the subject of current evaluation.
B. Outright habitat loss causes less damage to amphibian populations than
either habitat degradation or habitat fragmentation.
C. Introducing non-native species to an area may prove detrimental to the
native animal populations.