Biodiversity and Conservation quiz

The term biodiversity was popularised by:

India's share of the world's land area and of global species diversity respectively is:

In the species-area relationship log S = log C + Z log A, Z represents:

Which of the following is an example of ex situ conservation?

The Nile perch introduced into Lake Victoria led to the extinction of:

Which of the following is an invasive weed species in India?

The rivet popper hypothesis was proposed by:

Which of the following is NOT one of the evil quartet?

Sacred groves of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills are located in:

The total number of biodiversity hotspots in the world, as recognised in NCERT, is:

Give one example each of genetic diversity and ecological diversity in India. (2 marks)

Why is the Amazon rainforest called the lungs of the planet? Why is this claim a broadly utilitarian argument for conservation? (2 marks)

Explain co-extinction with a suitable example. (2 marks)

Name two animals that became extinct due to over-exploitation by humans. (2 marks)

What is cryopreservation? How does it help in conservation? (2 marks)

Why are hotspots considered regions of high conservation priority? (2 marks)

Why did the introduction of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus become a threat to Indian rivers? (2 marks)

What is meant by narrowly utilitarian argument for conservation? Give one example. (2 marks)

Name the two international summits on biodiversity and the years in which they were held. (2 marks)

Why do tropical regions have more species than temperate regions? Give any two reasons. (2 marks)

For frugivorous birds and mammals in tropical forests of different continents, Z is about 1.15. Calculate the factor by which species richness increases when the area doubles. Compare with the factor when Z = 0.15. (Take 2^1.15 = 2.22 and 2^0.15 = 1.11.) (3 marks)

The Amazon rainforest harbours about 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 of fishes, 1,300 of birds, 427 of mammals, 427 of amphibians, 378 of reptiles and more than 1,25,000 invertebrates. Calculate the total number of vertebrate species listed and the percentage of all listed species that are invertebrates. (3 marks)

In a survey of 10 hectares, 20 species were recorded. Assuming C is constant and Z = 0.2, estimate the number of species expected in 320 hectares. (Take 32^0.2 = 2.) (3 marks)

Colombia has nearly 1,400 bird species, New York 105 and Greenland 56. Calculate how many times more bird species Colombia has than New York and than Greenland. What pattern does this illustrate? (3 marks)

According to IUCN data, 12% of all bird species, 23% of mammals, 32% of amphibians and 31% of gymnosperms face extinction. If there are about 10,000 bird species and 5,400 mammal species in the world, calculate the number of threatened birds and mammals. (3 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. A biologist working in the Himalayas measured the concentration of reserpine in Rauwolfia vomitoria plants from different altitudes and found marked differences in potency. India also has more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice and 1,000 varieties of mango. (i) Which level of biodiversity is described here? (ii) Why is such variation important for agriculture and medicine? (iii) Name the other two levels of biodiversity. (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. A large tract of forest was cut to build roads and farms, leaving small isolated patches. Mammals and birds that need large territories, such as tigers and hornbills, declined sharply, while some migratory animals disappeared from the area. (i) Name the cause of biodiversity loss described. (ii) Why are animals needing large territories most affected? (iii) Suggest two conservation measures for this area. (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia) was introduced into India for its beautiful flowers. It soon spread through ponds and lakes, covering the water surface and causing the death of fish. Lantana has similarly invaded forest areas. (i) Which component of the evil quartet is illustrated? (ii) Why do such species spread so rapidly? (iii) State two effects of water hyacinth on aquatic ecosystems. (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. A biosphere reserve in the Nilgiris includes a strictly protected central area, a surrounding area where research and education are allowed, and an outer area where local people live and carry out farming. (i) Name the three zones described. (ii) Why is human activity restricted in the central area? (iii) How does a biosphere reserve differ from a national park? (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. A seed bank in Hyderabad stores seeds of traditional crop varieties at very low temperatures. Botanists also maintain endangered plants in botanical gardens and propagate them through tissue culture. (i) Which type of conservation is described? (ii) Name two techniques of this type of conservation. (iii) Why is it needed when in situ conservation already exists? (5 marks)

Explain the species-area relationship with a labelled graph. Write its equation, explain the meaning of each term, and state the range of Z values for small regions and for very large areas. (6 marks)

Describe the four major causes of biodiversity loss, the evil quartet, with one example of each. Draw a flowchart linking each cause to extinction. (6 marks)

Explain in situ conservation through hotspots, biosphere reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and sacred groves. Draw a labelled zoning diagram of a biosphere reserve. (6 marks)

Explain why biodiversity should be conserved using narrowly utilitarian, broadly utilitarian and ethical arguments. Draw a chart summarising the three arguments with two examples each. (6 marks)

Draw a pie chart showing the global diversity of major groups of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants. Explain the patterns of biodiversity, including the latitudinal gradient, and discuss the importance of species diversity to ecosystem stability. (6 marks)