Download Academy of the Sciences: Study Guide Name

Academy of the Sciences: Study Guide
Name ________ P. __
Hints for success:
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Acquire a map of the museum when you enter and use it to navigate the different exhibits.
If you get stuck, ask one of the many volunteers throughout the museum for help. They will be happy to assist you!
DO NOT forget to staple your ticket stub to this study guide AND a picture of you in from of the museum..
Look up the definitions of the italicized words before you go. This will speed your efforts.
Rainforest: Borneo
1) What are the 4 layers of the rainforest?
2) How did the Wagner’s Pit Viper get its name?
3) Why are Borneo’s “Pitcher Plants” unique when compared to nearly all other plants?
4) Why are there so many reptiles, amphibians, and mammals that have developed “gliding” adaptations in the Borneo
rainforest?
Rainforest: Understory
5) Why do Leafcutter Ants cut and carry leaves underground?
6) What is a “Bromeliad?” How do they create ideal mini-habitats for animals like the “Strawberry Poison Dart Frog.”
Rainforest: Madagascar
7) What is the dominant fauna in any rainforest? ______________________________________________
8) What form of mimicry is exhibited by the “Leaf-Nosed Snake?” the “Leaf-Tailed Gecko?”
Rainforest: Canopy
9) What is an Epiphyte? Provide an example found in the rainforest canopy and briefly describe its adaptations for
survival.
10) Name 2 animals that thrive in all layers of the tropical rainforest.
11) How do temperate rainforests differ from tropical rainforests?
12) What is the highly effective defensive mechanism produced by the Panamanian Giant Cockroach?
Rainforest: Flooded Forest
13) Are piranhas omnivores or carnivores? When are they most dangerous?
California Coast
14) The leafy Sea Dragon and the Vietnamese Mossy Frog have highly specialized methods of evading predators. What
do these animals mimic?
Coral Reef
15) Describe an example of commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism you observed in “Coral Reef Partnerships”
16) Can you find “Nemo?” What is his species called?
African Hall
17) Are Baboons omnivores or herbivores? How are their feeding habits an evolutionary advantage?
18) What evolutionary cousin of Homo sapiens disappeared around 30,000 years ago? _________________
19) How is the Jackson’s Chameleon adapted to thrive in the woodlands of East Africa? Provide 2 examples.
20) Why are Cheetahs at risk for extinction?
21) Look at the Roan Antelope exhibit. What genetic condition produces Roan in mammals?
22) Look at the: “We are all Africans” exhibit. What evidence shows that humans are primates? How long ago did the
first hominids appear in Africa?
23) What type of primate is in the glass case? What anatomical feature(s) proves that “Lucy” walked upright?
24) What is the number one threat to the survival of the African Hunting Dog?
25) What special adaptations allow the Kilpspringer to evade predators on high rocky slopes?
26) What behavioral adaptations are exhibited by the “DikDik”,” helping it survive in the harsh, hot, and dry scrubland
of Somalia?
Islands of Evolution
27) Selective breeding results in artificial selection. What examples on display (look for skulls) exemplify this
phenomenon?
28) Use Darwin’s finches to explain how adaptive radiation resulted in new species on the Galapagos islands.
29) How do different tortoise species differ on the various islands of the Galapagos? Why did these differences arise
over time?
“Color of Life”
30) Look up at the Blue Whale skeleton (just outside the hall). What small vestigial remnants can you see which prove
that the ancestors of whales once walked on land? (hint: look toward the tail)
31) What does an animal’s coloration have to do with “sexual selection?” Provide an example from the exhibit.
32) Describe 2 examples of how an animal’s coloration has evolved as an adaptive strategy in its environment.