|
A Plague of Frogs--Study Questions
Chapter 9 – “The Biggest Experiment Ever””
1. What were the drawbacks for scientists working with a native speacies?
The scientists would need to force-breed females to obtain eggs so they could simulate the exposures that would occur in the wild.(126)
2. What would be the politically correct cause of the deformed frogs?
Chemicals(127)
3. Why did Duane C. Horiswetz view MPCA’s search as quixotic?
Answers will vary.(127) He considered the abnormalities to be caused by Mother Nature and that the research had be come the “Big Frog Caper”.
4. Cite three reasons that the investigation could be consider the “Big Frog Caper”?
Answers will vary.(127)
5. Why would this case have reminded Goldberg of the thalidomide babies?
Answers will vary.(127)
6. What was a sensible assumption according to Converse regarding the cause of the deformities?
Converse assumed that there were multiple causes of the deformities.
7. Why was collaboration essential in this investigation?
8. How did Reinitz feel about support she was receiving from her state and the national government?
Reinitz felt abandoned as a teacher battling complacency in her students. The “it’s not my problem attitude” was prevalent throughout governmental agencies creaeting a poor role model for
future scientists everywhere.(131)
9. Who are the financial players contributing to the investigation throughout this chapter?
Answers will vary.(130-)
10. What did the Star Tribune fail to offer to the investigation?
The newspaper offered criticism without any critical advice.
11. Apply the statement “Actions speak louder than words” to this chapter.
Answers will vary.
12. Consider “Deep Time” as it applies to the biodiversity crisis.
Answers will vary.(135)
13. Lannoo suggested that the biodiversity crisis could be illuminated via descriptions of the local environment as it appeared to his grandparents. Given this, provide a description of
your biome as it appeared in the year 1900 including flora and fauna.
Answers will vary.(136)
14. “A change in the environment taking place over a thousand years would have the same significance on the evolutionary time scale as the impact of a comet with earth.” Explain the
significance of this as related to investigation in the book .
Answers will vary.(135)
15. Address the problem of the lack of collegiality among members of the scientific community? Cite specific examples ie. the “sharp disagreement between the toxicologists and the field
biologists”.
Answers will vary.(throughout the book)
16. What was the potential of this case as compared to the development of the AIDS epidemic?
Answers will vary.(139)
17. In considering the differences in embryonic development in humans and frogs, explain why deformities might not be expressed in the human populations.
Answers will vary.
18. What did Blaustein say that egg mortality should be?
10% (149)
19. Explain how UVB can impact the environment.
UVB can cause certain developmental abnormalities.(149)
20. Explain how gene expression is a “river of effects”.
The signaling and gene expressions that took place throughout development cascaded forward onto one another – additional presursors could be involved in the dissemination of command
mechanisms.(150)
21. Explain the “smoking gun”.
(150)
|
