Sea Otters Central Idea Quiz

Which of these is the BEST description of a central idea of the whole article?

• Endangered species are a result of human interaction, and we must work to keep these animals protected.

• Larger predators like whales are threats to sea otters, and people should keep the otters safe.

• Otters are, like many other animals, keystone species that largely impact their environment, and without them, ecosystems would not function.

• 4: Charles Darwin’s observations of keystone species largely influence our understanding of animals and trophic cascades.

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CCSS.RI.7.2

Which of the following sections most supports the central idea of animals’ impacts on the environment?

• Other Keystone Species

• Sea Otters Were Once Targeted For Their Fur

• Sea Otters Ensure Health of Kelp Forests

• Introduction

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CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.2

How does the introduction connect to the central idea of the article?

• It explains how the idea of trophic cascades (later introduced) connect to the wellbeing of endangered species

• It connects Charles Darwin's initial idea of trophic cascades to the effect animals can have on their surrounding environment

• It explains how sea otters affect their environment, and how other keystone species are important to Charles Darwin's studies

• It introduces the idea of trophic cascades, and how they connect to keystone species like sea otters (who have negative effects on their habitat)

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CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Which evidence BEST supports this central idea: Sea otters play an important part in keeping the kelp forest habitat healthy?

• Everywhere Estes looked he found the same picture. Islands with sea otters had healthy kelp forests. Islands without otters had barren sea floors littered with sea urchins and no kelp.

• Since then, the sea otter has become an important poster species for the ecology movement. Some call them the teddy bears of the ocean. They open sea urchins, crabs and other shellfish with flat stones before eating them, an endearing sight.

• Kelp forests play a key role in maintaining global environmental health. Human activity is leading to more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, making it more acidic. This harms many species.

• What Estes found was striking. Islands without sea otters had an abundance of sea urchins, the main prey of sea otters.

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CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.W.7.1B

CCSS.W.7.9A

How does the idea of tropic cascades relate to the central idea that animals (especially keystone species) impact their environment?

• Trophic cascades suggest that food chains all connect to others to form a larger food web that affects the environment.

• Trophic cascades explain the theory that animals all rely on other species.

• Trophic cascades suggest that the people and animals all work together to harm or benefit their environment.

• Trophic cascades suggest that organisms all connect and the presence of one animal affects the environment.

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CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.7.3

Which of these sentences from the section "Taking a Closer Look At Sea Otters" best relates to the central idea of the article?

• To find out, he began studying the sea floors around islands where sea otters had survived and where they had disappeared.

• He wanted to know: given its large appetite for urchins and shellfish, what happened to the rest of the ecosystem after sea otter populations declined?

• Instead, huge urchins littered the barren seafloor, having consumed every kelp plant in sight.

• Islands with sea otters had healthy kelp forests. Islands without otters had barren sea floors littered with sea urchins and no kelp.

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CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.2

Part A: What is the central idea of the section "Taking a Closer Look At Sea Otters"?

• After Estes' experiments, he found that sea otters help decrease the amount of sea urchins and increase the amount of kelp

• After Estes' experiment, he discovered that sea otters make larger impacts on land than they do in the water

• After Estes' experiment, he found that sea urchins negatively impact the health of sea otters

• After Estes' experiment, he found that kelp forests are very scarce in the areas where sea otters live

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CCSS.RI.7.2

Part B: Which of the following pieces of evidence from the section "Taking A Closer Look At Sea Otters" best supports the central idea of the section?

• To find out, he began studying the sea floors around islands where sea otters had survived and where they had disappeared.

• The forests of kelp that once grew there had disappeared...

  By contrast, kelp flourished on nearby islands where sea otters survived or had been reintroduced.

• Estes began studying the Aleutians in the 1970s.

• He wanted to know: given its large appetite for urchins and shellfish, what happened to the rest of the ecosystem after sea otter populations declined?

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CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

Q: Which TWO pieces of evidence support the inference that humans are mostly to blame for the decline in Sea Otter populations?

• One of Estes' colleagues, Tim Tinker, noticed that two otters he recently tagged for future study had gone missing after a group of killer whales passed Adak island.

• Before commercial whaling, killer whales fed on great whales ... By the time commercial whaling stopped, there were virtually no great whales left for killer whales to eat. So, they expanded their diet to... sea otters.

• By the 1900s, hunters had brought the animal close to extinction.

• Estes began studying the Aleutians in the 1970s. He wanted to know: given its large appetite for urchins and shellfish, what happened to the rest of the ecosystem after sea otter populations declined?

• Since then, the sea otter has become an important poster species for the ecology movement. Some call them they are the teddy bears of the ocean.

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CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.W.7.9A

Which of these is an inference you can make about the killer whales in the article?

• Killer whales will eventually replace otters as a keystone species, keeping the area in good health.

• Killer whales, due to commercial whaling, will be hunted to extinction, making them no longer a problem.

• The addition of killer whales as a top predator will increase the amount of kelp in their habitat due to their predation of sea urchins.

• The addition of killer whales as a top predator will cause a Trophic Cascade in their environment.

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CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.W.7.9A