Honors Biology Study Guide for: A Sand County Almanac by ...

Honors Biology

Study Guide for: A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Summer of 2010

Directions:

You will need to purchase your own copy of this book. You should be able to get it cheaply used
from an on-line book seller. There have been several editions published with slight variations. Buy
the one with the subtitle: “with Essays on Conservation from Round River”.

This study guide divides the book into five sections. Try to pace yourself throughout the summer
(e.g. complete one section every two weeks)

For each section you will need to:
1. Find and learn the definitions for the vocabulary words in each section. Be prepared for a

multiple choice vocabulary test in the first week of school.
2. Read the chapters indicated for the section.
3. Answer five of the 10-12 possible questions/tasks for that section:

o research (all must do this one)
o ecosystems (choose 2)
o human interaction (choose 1)
o interpretation (choose 1).

When writing your responses to the questions, make sure that you:
1. Write in complete sentences with complete thoughts.
2. Be careful about using pronouns without an antecedent (the noun referred to by the pronoun).
3. Support your responses by providing details or quoting the author (RAP).
4. If you quote the author, you must enclose it with quotation marks and indicate the page number

from your book in parenthesis. If you don’t, you will be guilty of plagiarism, and will receive a
zero for your response.
5. Type your answers (double space, 1” margins)

You will turn in your study guide answers on the first regular day of class in August (not the purple
day on the first day of school).

Section 1

Read: Forward, January, February, March, April, May and June Vocabulary 1
bigamous
RESEARCH
carousal
1. List the four species Leopold indicated were subject to heavy hunting esthetic
pressure. Using the internet, find out what the current status of these birds is ethics
(extinct, endangered, threatened, or abundant). (February) fauna
flora
ECOSYSTEMS gustatory
hegira
2. How does a thaw bring “freedom from want and fear” for some and remove it ignominious
for others? Give examples. (January) oxbow
phalanx
3. Give a list of factors Leopold mentioned that influence the population of oak plethora
trees, and animals. (February) salutary
skein
4. In what way is bur oak well adapted for invading the prairie ecosystem? surreptitious
(April)

HUMAN INTERACTION

5. What three concepts did the author use as themes for this book? (Forward)

6. Describe several ways in which the observation of the woodcock’s dance influenced the author’s
behavior? (April)

7. Based on Leopold’s description, what are several aspects of fly fishing that make it rewarding? If
you are a fly fisherman, do you agree? (June)

INTERPRETATION

8. What does Leopold mean by a “subjective interpretation of bird behavior”? Why does he say this
is risky? Was the subjective interpretation of the goose behavior correct or incorrect? (March)

9. Explain what Leopold means when he writes: “And in this annual barter of food for light, and
winter warmth for summer solitude, the whole continent receives as net profit a wild poem
dropped from the murky skies upon the muds of March.”

10. Why are the gully and drainage ditch enemies of the plover? [To help you answer this, you may
need to find out more about the upland plover (now called the upland sandpiper) than the book
has to offer. Also, find out what a gully is and what a drainage ditch is and how they affect the
land] (May)

Section 2

Read: July, August, September, October, November, December

RESEARCH

1. In a paragraph, describe an encounter with wildlife you have had. Name the Vocabulary 2
species, describe the behavior you observed, and what you learned from it. acquiesce
End the paragraph by telling what you think is the value of experiences with appurtenance
wildlife (i.e. how are people different in their attitudes or beliefs because they decorum
have had this experience, and consequently alter their behavior)? equilibrium
evanescent
ECOSYSTEMS exuberance
fiefdom
2. If some plants are preferred over others for food, what prevents them from firmament
being wiped out by the animals that like to eat them? (July) perpetuity
precocious
3. What are several benefits of disease in Leopold’s woodlot? (November) punctilious
reticent
4. What are several things that can be learned about population dynamics (i.e. tenure
the way populations are affected) from chickadee #65290? (December)

HUMAN INTERACTION

5. How do you think Leopold would answer the question of “whether we cannot have both progress
and plants”? How so? (July)

6. What is Leopold’s definition of a conservationist? Do you agree or disagree (provide support for
your position)? (November)

7. What is a plant that Leopold prefers? Why? Is this preference ecologically sound? Why or why
not?

INTERPRETATION

8. Explain what the author meant by “things hoped for have a higher value than things assured”.
Relate this to conservation efforts. (September)

9. Quote a descriptive phrase or sentence you’ve read so far in this book that stood out to you.
Explain why it stood out to you, and what its significance is in the book (i.e. what does it mean)?

10. What did Leopold mean when he said the grouse were “speculating in jackpine futures”? [hint:
this is stock market terminology – speculating in futures] (December)

Section 3

Read: Wisconsin, Illinois & Iowa, Arizona & New Mexico

RESEARCH Vocabulary 3
anemic
1. Find out what is meant by the term “ecological succession”. Provide an aspersions
example with the definition. What ecological succession does Leopold desuetude
describe in the chapter “Wisconsin”? [careful: the answer to this last diminutions
question is not found in one paragraph] disposition
echelon
ECOSYSTEMS elegy
2. Considering that extinction is common in biological history (i.e. more herbarium
animals have become extinct than are living today), what role do you think slough (slu)
humans should play regarding endangered species? Why? (Wisconsin) slough (sluff)

3. What does it mean to “think like a mountain”? (Arizona)

4. What is the difference between X and Y in “Odyssey”? What made the difference?

HUMAN INTERACTION

5. In what ways do cranes hold a fascination for Leopold (there are several)? (Wisconsin)

6. Leopold indicates that our knowledge of evolution should give us a “sense of kinship with
fellow-creatures.” Yet, he also suggests there is “objective evidence of our superiority over the
beasts.” What are your thoughts about the “special-ness” of humans in relation to other
creatures? (Wisconsin)

7. What is “wilderness travel”? What are the values or benefits of wilderness travel? Have you ever
had such an experience? If so, give a brief description. If not, where would be a place you could
go to have such an experience (be specific as possible). (Wisconsin)

8. What are several aspects of farming Leopold observed which indicated a greater interest in
making money than in conservation? (Illinois)

INTERPRETATION

9. Why does Leopold say “conservation of wildness is self defeating”? Do you agree? (Wisconsin)

10. What do you think Leopold means when he says, “It must be poor life that achieves freedom
from fear”? (Arizona)

11. What losses are implied when Leopold says of Escudilla, “it’s only a mountain now”? (Arizona)

12. What does Leopold mean when he says, “Too much safety seems to yield only danger in the long
run”? Relate this to how animals function in an ecosystem. (Arizona)

Section 4

Read: Chihuahua & Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, Country, A Man’s Leisure Time, The Round River

RESEARCH Vocabulary 4
annual (plants)

1. Choose one of the waterfowl that Leopold wrote about in “Manitoba”. antediluvian
Find: a picture of the animal and a map showing its winter and summer anthracite
(breeding) ranges. Find out: what type of food it eats, and how large it is austerity
(length and/or wingspan). cerebration
delectation

ECOSYSTEM endowment
exigencies

2. What are some examples of invader species given by Leopold? What is expungement
the general problem with invader species (i.e. what allows them to gastronomy
invade)? Provide a specific example. (Oregon) opulence
paucity

3. What aspects of an ecosystem come about as a result of its stability? How perennial (plants)
rendezvous
does stability, in turn, result from these aspects? (Round River)

4. In the long run, what are several reasons for preserving native flora and fauna? (Round River)

HUMAN INTERACTION

5. List several ways in which Native Americans altered their ecosystem (Chihuahua)

6. What must be established in our culture in order for conservation ethic to take hold? How is this
to be accomplished? Do you think that exists in our culture now? (Round River)

7. What is the first principle of conservation? What two things does this principle assume? (Round
River)

INTERPRETATION

8. Describe how Leopold is using “subjective interpretation of bird behavior” in regards to parrots?
[refer to question #8 in Section 1]. Do you think his interpretation is ecologically sound? Why or
why not? (Chihuahua)

9. What is meant by having “refined taste in natural objects”? This statement infers a value system.
What does Leopold suggest should and should not be the basis of this value system? (Round
River)

10. In Leopold’s opinion, what aspects of a place can make it poor land, but rich country? Describe
what would be meant by: poor land, rich land, poor country, rich country. (Country)

Section 5

Read: Natural History, Wildlife in American Culture, Deer Swath, Goose Music, Land Ethic

RESEARCH Vocabulary 5
accoutrements
1. Leopold mentions five soil conservation practices:
strip cropping, avocation
contour farming, botany
soil liming, frivolities
fencing woodlots, illegitimate
excluding “cow and plow” from steep slopes intangible
ornithology
Describe what is involved in each practice, and then explain what the benefit
is of each. (Land Ethic). quixotic

ECOSYSTEMS

2. What things does Leopold say education should be teaching – especially your biology education?
How is this best accomplished? (Natural History)

3. How did plant succession influence history? (Land Ethic)

4. Describe the general structure of the ecological pyramid. What is being circulated in this
pyramid? (Land Ethic)

HUMAN INTERACTON

5. What are three kinds of “cultural nutriment” (i.e. experiences that feed our culture) that result
from our outdoor recreation? Describe what each of these is in your own words. (Wildlife)

6. What value does wildlife have for:
a. human expression,
b. morals/religion,
c. character building? (Goose Music)

7. What is the problem with a land-use ethic that is based on economic value of resources? How
does Leopold’s idea of a land ethic change humans’ role with the land-community? (Land Ethic)

INTERPRETATION
8. Why is Leopold doubtful about an ecologist’s ability to succeed in his/her efforts? (Deer)

9. In what way may gadgets harm or enhance the cultural value of outdoor recreation? (Wildlife)

10. Why does Leopold object to the “where-to-go service” provided by magazines and agencies?
(Wildlife)