Lesson 2: Do trees really change the composition of the atmosphere around us?

The tasmanian devil, a marsupial carnivore, is facing extinction due to devil facial tumor disease (dftd) which causes bulging cancerous lumps and lesions to erupt around the face and neck — often causing enough deformation to make seeing or eating difficult. dftd has evolved into a contagious cancer, a trait that is unique among cancers. devil mating behavior involves biting around the head and neck, allowing cells from one individual — especially cells from the crumbly dftd tumors — to be transferred to the wounds or face of a new individual. this marsupial was once found across australia, but sea levels rose, isolating the tasmanian population, while the australian population went extinct. what would be an outcome of genetic isolation that is likely to have impacted the spread of dftd? a) reduced territory puts diseased individuals in greater contact with non-diseased ones. b) inbreeding results in less variation in facial features so the cancer is generally fatal. c) genetic isolation has made it difficult for scientists to develop a vaccine against dftd. d) the lack of genetic variation in the immune system of tasmanian devils minimizes resistance to the disease.

African penguins, which inhabit the coasts of southern africa, were classified as an endangered species in 2010. two significant threats to their survival are ecosystem damage from oil spills and overfishing by humans. overfishing depletes the food supply of african penguins. the best method to reduce the threat of overfishing would be to . the risk of oil spills could be reduced by increasing the use of , which should oil consumption. if an oil spill does occur, could be used to remove the oil so the ecosystem may more quickly recover.

Temperatures in ponds and lakes vary by season. select the best answer from the choices provided t f