Biodiversity and Conservation Questions and Answers

Answer: A

IUCN is also known as the World Conservation Union.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, founded in 1948 and headquartered at Gland, Switzerland, used the name World Conservation Union from 1990 to 2008. It publishes the Red List of threatened species.

'World Conservation Unit', 'World Comparative Unit' and 'World Nature Union' are not names it has used.

Answer: C

Amrita Devi Bishnoi gave her life to protect the khejri tree.

In 1730, at Khejarli village near Jodhpur, Amrita Devi and 362 other Bishnois were killed while hugging khejri trees to stop the Maharaja's men from felling them. The episode inspired the Chipko movement, and the Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award is named after her.

The khejri (Prosopis cineraria) is sacred to the Bishnois and is Rajasthan's state tree. Gulmohar, pine and peepal are not connected with the event.

Answer: D

The Red Data Book includes endangered species.

The Red Data Book, maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), records species threatened with extinction, classed as critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable, with information on their status and threats. India's Botanical and Zoological Surveys publish Red Data Books for the country.

It is not a list of timber trees or economically important species, and 'red forest' has nothing to do with it.

Answer: D

The example of in-situ conservation is on site protection of biodiversity at all levels.

In-situ conservation protects species in their natural habitats, together with their ecosystems, as in national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves and sacred groves.

Seed banks, botanical gardens and tissue culture all keep organisms or their genetic material away from their natural habitat, so they are ex-situ methods.

Answer: D

The Man and the Biosphere programme belongs to UNESCO.

UNESCO launched the MAB programme in 1971 as an intergovernmental scientific programme to improve the relationship between people and their environment. Its best-known product is the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, which includes several Indian reserves such as Pachmarhi and Amarkantak-Achanakmar.

CSIR, ICAR and UGC are Indian national bodies for industrial research, agricultural research and university grants.

Answer: D

India is divided into 10 biogeographic regions.

The classification by Rodgers and Panwar (Wildlife Institute of India, 1988, revised 2002) divides India into ten biogeographic zones based on vegetation, wildlife and physical features: the Trans-Himalaya, Himalaya, Desert, Semi-arid, Western Ghats, Deccan Peninsula, Gangetic Plain, North-East, Coasts, and Islands. These are further divided into 27 biotic provinces.

The figures of 6, 7 and 8 do not match this standard scheme used for planning India's protected area network.

Answer: C

The most effective way is by creating a biosphere reserve.

A biosphere reserve conserves plants in their natural habitat (in situ), together with the animals, soils and processes they depend on, and protects whole ecosystems, with a core zone, buffer zone and transition zone.

Seed banks, tissue culture and botanical gardens are ex situ methods: they preserve selected species away from their habitat, which is valuable as a back-up but cannot conserve the full diversity of an area.

Answer: B

UNESCO launched the Biosphere Reserve programme in 1971.

The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme began in 1971, and under it biosphere reserves were designated from 1976 as sites combining conservation, sustainable use and research, with core, buffer and transition zones. India's first biosphere reserve, the Nilgiri, was set up in 1986.

1961, 1981 and 1991 do not match the launch of the MAB programme.

Answer: A

The term 'biodiversity' was coined by Walter G. Rosen.

Rosen, of the US National Research Council, coined 'biodiversity' as a contraction of 'biological diversity' in 1985 while planning the National Forum on BioDiversity, held in Washington in 1986.

E.O. Wilson (printed 'A. O. Wilson') edited the proceedings, the book BioDiversity (1988), which popularised the word, so he is the usual trap. Rachel Carson (printed 'Carlson') wrote Silent Spring.

Answer: C

Amphibian diversity in India is highest in the Western Ghats.

The Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, have heavy rainfall, humid evergreen forests and many isolated hill ranges, ideal conditions for frogs and caecilians. A large share of India's amphibian species, most of them endemic, occur there.

The Eastern Ghats, the Deccan plateau and the Gangetic plain are drier or more disturbed and support far fewer amphibian species.