Endangered Species Quiz and Answers

May 21, 2010 is Endangered Species Day.

Here are the endangered species quiz questions that I posted earlier along with the correct answers.  

The quiz is also posted online at http://www.fws.gov/Endangered/ESDay/quiz2.html

1) The Endangered Species Act is one of the most successful environmental laws ever put into place, and has been credited with having saved _______% of the species it protects.

a.)75%
b.) 80%
c.) 99%
d.) 85%

2) True or false? There are more plants on the lists of endangered and threatened species in the United States than animals. TRUE

3) How many species are listed as endangered or threatened in the United States?
a.) about 750
b.) about 4,000
c.) about 1,300   here are 750 listed plant species and 577 listed animals.

4) There are more listed species in _______ than there are in any other state.
a.) Hawaii   has 330 listed plants and animals. California is second with 308 listed species.
b.) California
c.) Florida
d.) Alaska

5) There are endangered and threatened species in ______ state(s).
a.) 1
b.) 37
c.) 50  Unfortunately there are endangered and threatened species in every state and in the District of Columbia.
d.) 44


6) Which group of animals in our country is the most endangered?
a.) Birds
b.) Mammals
c.) Fish   138 species listed
d.) Insects

7) This fish (found only in Arizona) was once on the brink of extinction, but could now see a delisting proposal as early as 2011—which would make it the first fish to ever be removed from list of endangered and threatened species!
a.) Cutthroat trout
b.) Atlantic salmon
c.) Pallid sturgeon
d.) Apache trout

8) What is the most common threat resulting in species becoming endangered or threatened?
a.) Habitat loss and degradation
b.) Invasive species
c.) Disease
d.) Overharvesting
All are threats, but habitat loss and degradation is the most common cause of species imperilment.

9) It is estimated that ______% of freshwater mussels in the U.S. are extinct, endangered, or in need of special protection.
a.) 33%
b.) 25%
c.) 50%
d.) 70%


10) When the ______ was listed as threatened in 2008, it marked the first time the Endangered Species Act was used to protect a species threatened by the impacts of climate change.
a.) Pika
b.) Polar bear
c.) Marmot


11) Since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, how many species have been removed from the threatened and endangered list because they went extinct?
a.) More than 50
b.) About 25
c.) Fewer than 10


12) Name the recovered species that is also our national symbol.
a.) Gray wolf
b.) Bald eagle  Most populations of all three species have recovered, including the bald eagle, our national symbol.
c.) Peregrine falcon