| A | B |
|---|
| What are three different names used for grasslands? | Possible Answers (you need to know 3): Prairies, Savannas, Steppes, Velds, Pampas, Llanos, Campo |
| Why do you think this biome is called grasslands? | The main vegetation (plant) is grass. |
| Why would grasses need deep root systems? | To hold tightly to the soil, to search for water, and to keep the grazing animals from pulling it up from the roots |
| Why are grasslands so suitable for farming? | The soil is rich with nutrients from the many years of grass |
| For predators, why would camouflage coloration be beneficial? | The predators can hide in the grass and sneak up on their prey |
| How do the tall grass prairies and the short grass prairies differ? | the amount of rainfall and the fertility of the soil |
| Why don't trees grow well in prairies? | grazing animals, thick soil, and prairie fires |
| What prevented the early pioneers from farming the prairies? | They could not plow the hard sod with wooden plows |
| What permitted farmers to begin cultivating the prairies? | the invention of the steel plow |
| Why are there only a few remnants of tall grass prairies? | farms, cities, and roads have taken over the land |
| What were two factors leading to the decline of large herbivores, such as the bison, from the grasslands? | hunting by men and habitats turned into farms |
| Is a prairie dog really a dog? | No, it is a ground squirrel |
| Why is the prairie dog known as a colonial animal? | they live in colonies (a large community or family) |
| Why did the poisoning of prairie dogs affect the number of Black-footed Ferrets? | The ferrets food supply was prairie dogs, so when the prairie dogs were gone, the ferrets died from lack of food and poison |
| Why are prairie dog towns now being protected? | So they won't become extinct |
