Question

the author is a biologist and college professor. he is considered one of the worlds experts on snakes. from tracks and shadows 1 rainforests are dimly lit and exceptionally diverse—claustrophobically dark and fecund —so no wonder tropical biologists end up puzzling over existential questions. at la selva biological station in costa rica, giant trees with buttressed trunks tower overhead, obscuring the sky, and every glimpse holds the vibrant greens and somber browns of plants and their decaying remnants. after a torrential shower the air reverberates with the buzzes, whines, and clicks of insects. mantled howler monkeys sound off in the distance. all around us leaf litter reeks from the chemical adventures of microbes, and over the course of hours my puny primate nose wrinkles toward some collared peccaries, then heaps of rotting fruit and a pile of cat droppings. rounding a trail curve im baffled by a shimmering lavender stripe, dozens of yards long and a half - inch tall; then i drop to my knees and contemplate thousands of leaf - cutter ants, each carrying a single delicate flower petal. and from time to time, slogging along the muddy paths, i imagine being overgrown by mosses and fungi, or devoured by spike - headed katydids 2 setting aside matters of life and death for the moment, what do ecologists mean by \exceptionally diverse,\ and why might anyone care? a comparison among some familiar places illustrates how numbers of species increase toward the equator, culminating in unparalleled tropical richness. california this question has two parts. answer part a, and then answer part b. part a select two statements that best express central ideas in the passage. 1. several animal species in the rainforests are the most endangered in the world. 2. travelers to costa rica seldom get to see many of the animal species in rainforests. 3. rainforests support a greater number of plant and animal species than other regions do. 4. the geological location and local conditions of rainforests create variety in plant and animal species. 5. la selva biological station is an exceptional location for studying plant and animal species in rainforests.

Explanation:

The passage emphasizes the high - diversity of rainforests in terms of plant and animal species and how geological and local conditions contribute to this diversity. Statement 3 highlights the greater number of species in rainforests compared to other regions, and statement 4 points out that the geological location and local conditions create species variety.

Answer:

1. Rainforests support a greater number of plant and animal species than other regions do.
2. The geological location and local conditions of rainforests create variety in plant and animal species.