The Future of an Island Lizard: teacher key

Komodo Dragons, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. What research on the Komodo dragon's numbers, genes and climate models says about its future.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did the 2020 model project for habitat by 2050?
   • A shrink of 8 to 87 percent (answer)
   • No change
   • A growth of 80 percent
2. Which two islands showed lower extinction risk?
   • Flores and Padar
   • Rinca and Komodo (answer)
   • Nusa Kode and Gili Motang
3. How many simulations did the climate study run?
   • About ten
   • About one hundred
   • Over one million (answer)
4. Why do the results come as ranges and not one number?
   • The study accounted for uncertainty with many simulations (answer)
   • Nobody counted dragons
   • The dragons moved
5. What does conservation mean here?
   • Building towns
   • Protecting nature (answer)
   • Selling animals

Words

• conservation: protecting nature
• simulations: computer trials
• chemoreceptor: chemical sensor
• kairomones: cross-species scents