There S a Hair in My Dirt: Questions

NAME: DATE: PER. #: DR. LAMIA There’s a Hair in My Dirt: Questions

1. Describe an Earthworm’s Niche.

2. When the young earthworm says: “I hate being a worm! We’re the bottom of the food chain! Bird food! Fish bait! Is he completely correct? Explain.

3. How is the ‘lowly’ earthworm essential to the ecosystem?

4. Site an example of parasitism from the story. Include parasite and host names.

5. Why should Harriet be thanking the trees?

6. What human actions could be harming the trees (describe three)?

7. The narrator (father worm) says: “Heck, even the dead need [oxygen] or they’d hang around a lot longer and get on everyone’s nerves.”

A. Describe the relationship between the dead and oxygen.

B. What cycle is father worm referring to in his comment?

8. Describe an instance of a problem that may have been the result of biological control gone awry.

9. From the text site examples of competition among plants.

10. What do plants compete for?

11. How might a farmer’s use of insecticide ultimately end up hurting his crop?

12. Describe the symbiotic relationship illustrated between ants and aphids.

13. Are the actions of lumberjack Bob most likely contributing to global warming or ozone depletion? Explain.

14. The son interrupts his father and asks for another story: “Mr. Dung Beetle finds his Field of Dreams”.

* What does the young worm have in common with the beetle?

15. How is deer ‘play’ a product of evolution?

16. How does the father worm describe the turtle as a community?

17. How is the frog in the story adapted for survival? 18. Mother worm says she went to her prom with a slug and that she was wishing [she] had brought a salt shaker.

*Which life process is this reference to? Explain.

19. What role do enzymes play in firefly mating?

20. Describe five examples of traits (illustrated in the text) that are the result of natural selection.

21. How is a dead tree not a tragedy?

22. While it may seem unfortunate, how is the little bird plummeting from the nest, important to the species?

23. Is primary or secondary succession illustrated in the text? Explain.

24. Give examples of at least five different nutritional relationships found in the text.

25. Give an example of each of the three symbiotic relationships found in the text.

26. How is the statement: “It seemed like a good idea at the time”, a proper summary of human impact on the environment?

27. From the story, describe five examples of the it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time theory.

28. What is the point of the story?