Living Systems
The coquí, El Yunque, and the plants and animals that live here and nowhere else.
Question 1 of 8
What is the difference between a native plant and an endemic plant?
Endemic means it grows naturally in one place on Earth and nowhere else. That is why losing one here means losing it everywhere.
Question 2 of 8
Which tree gives Puerto Rico its national flower?
The Maga tree is endemic to Puerto Rico, and the Flor de Maga is the national flower.
Question 3 of 8
How did the Taíno use the higüero, and how is it still used today?
The same knowledge, carried forward. The Taíno hollowed the hard fruits into containers; artisans still make maracas and crafts from them.
Question 4 of 8
The Puerto Rican semi slug is part of what the lesson calls the forest’s recycling crew. Why?
It feeds on what has fallen in the forest and returns those nutrients to the soil.
Question 5 of 8
Why does Puerto Rico have no large native land mammals?
Large land mammals could not cross the ocean on their own, which is why small animals fill roles they would fill elsewhere.
Question 6 of 8
Why does protecting the Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly also mean protecting a plant?
Its caterpillars depend on that one host plant, so the butterfly cannot survive anywhere the plant does not grow.
Question 7 of 8
What does the Puerto Rican Woodpecker do that helps other species?
One bird’s nest-building ends up housing birds, insects and small animals long after it has moved on.
Question 8 of 8
How does the Red-tailed Hawk help keep the ecosystem balanced?
A predator at the top keeps the populations below it from growing unchecked.
Who belongs here?
Some of these live on this island and nowhere else. Some were brought here. Sort them.
Found only here
Endemic to Puerto Rico
Native, but found elsewhere too
Arrived on their own
Brought by people
Introduced species
This is one week of eight.
The quiz and the game are free. The lessons behind them are the full unit study: 24 lessons, 360 pages, grades 4 to 8, with read-aloud scripts, hands-on activities and answer keys.
See the unit study