Q: My son, who is in 5th grade, is studying the Florida black bear. A question on a recent worksheet asks, "Why is the Florida black bear called an 'umbrella species'?" We can't find an answer; can you help us out? Thanks!

A: Sure thing. Simply put for a fifth-grader, picture an umbrella with several species standing underneath it. If you protect the Florida black bear (the umbrella), then the other species under its umbrella also will be protected.

Scientists sometimes name certain species as umbrella species in the hopes of saving a whole range of animals and plants in a given area. The idea is that by protecting the important umbrella species and preserving its habitat, you'll also protect a number of other species that depend on the same habitat.

However, it doesn't always work out that way. For example, in California, a certain insect's umbrella species was doing OK, but the insect itself had gone down in numbers. What happened was that some development was allowed in the umbrella species' habitat, keeping in mind to protect the umbrella species. However, the insect required a specific plant in order to live that the umbrella species didn't necessarily need. Many of the insect's plants were lost to development. With fewer plants to live on, fewer insects were able to survive. So it's often better all around to preserve land rather than a specific species.

Florida black bears and most bears in general require a lot of forested land in order to prosper. So you can imagine that there are several species under the Florida black bear's umbrella, like Florida scrub jays, eastern indigo snakes, hawks, racoons, some fox squirrels and many others.

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