UPSC Environment and Ecology – Chapter 6: Threats to Biodiversity and Invasive Species (25 MCQs)

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UPSC Environment and Ecology – Chapter 6: Threats to Biodiversity and Invasive Species (25 MCQs) – 25 questions, subject: Environment. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

The IPBES Global Assessment Report (2019) estimated that the number of animal and plant species threatened with extinction is about:

Correct Answer: B [one million]

Explanation:

IPBES (2019) said around one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction, many within decades.

2.  

The NCERT "evil quartet" of causes of biodiversity loss does not include:

Correct Answer: B [volcanic eruptions]

Explanation:

NCERT's evil quartet is habitat loss, over-exploitation, alien species invasions and co-extinctions; volcanic eruptions are natural events, not included.

3.  

The most recent of the five mass extinctions, which ended the age of dinosaurs, occurred about:

Correct Answer: C [66 million years ago]

Explanation:

The end-Cretaceous mass extinction, about 66 million years ago, ended the age of dinosaurs.

4.  

Edge effects in a fragmented forest include:

Correct Answer: D [drier, windier conditions and more weeds]

Explanation:

Fragment borders are exposed to more sun and wind, so they become drier and more open to weeds, fire and hunters.

5.  

The Great Indian Bustard is most threatened by collisions with:

Correct Answer: A [overhead power lines]

Explanation:

The heavy, low-flying Great Indian Bustard has poor frontal vision and often collides fatally with overhead power lines.

6.  

Which of the following species was driven to extinction by over-hunting?

Correct Answer: C [Steller's sea cow]

Explanation:

Steller's sea cow was hunted to extinction within about three decades of its discovery in the eighteenth century.

7.  

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau was set up in:

Correct Answer: C [2007]

Explanation:

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau was constituted in 2007 by amending the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

8.  

An alien species becomes invasive when it:

Correct Answer: D [spreads on its own and harms native species or ecosystems]

Explanation:

An alien species is called invasive only when it spreads on its own and harms native species, ecosystems, health or economy.

9.  

The introduction of the Nile perch into Lake Victoria caused:

Correct Answer: D [the extinction of more than 200 cichlid fish species]

Explanation:

The predatory Nile perch, introduced into Lake Victoria, led to the extinction of more than 200 cichlid fish species.

10.  

Assertion (A): Invasive alien species often spread rapidly in a new region.

Reason (R): In the new region they usually lack the natural enemies that kept them in check at home.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

Freed from the predators and diseases of their home range, invasive species can grow and spread rapidly, so R explains A.

11.  

Consider the following plants:

1. Lantana camara
2. Parthenium hysterophorus
3. Water hyacinth

Which of the above are invasive alien species in India originally from the Americas?

Correct Answer: C [1, 2 and 3]

Explanation:

Lantana and Parthenium come from tropical America and water hyacinth from South America; all three are invasive in India.

12.  

The shola–grasslands of the Nilgiris are being invaded mainly by:

Correct Answer: A [black wattle and eucalyptus]

Explanation:

Plantation trees such as black wattle and eucalyptus from Australia have spread into and replaced Nilgiri shola–grasslands.

13.  

The steep fall of Gyps vultures in India was caused mainly by:

Correct Answer: B [diclofenac in cattle carcasses]

Explanation:

Vultures eating carcasses of cattle treated with diclofenac suffered fatal kidney failure, causing a crash of over 95 per cent.

14.  

When a host species dies out and its specific parasite dies with it, the event is called:

Correct Answer: A [co-extinction]

Explanation:

Co-extinction occurs when a species dies out together with its host or partner, such as a host-specific parasite.

15.  

TRAFFIC, the wildlife-trade monitoring network, was founded jointly by:

Correct Answer: A [WWF and IUCN]

Explanation:

TRAFFIC was set up in 1976 as a joint programme of WWF and IUCN to monitor wildlife trade.

16.  

Arrange in chronological order:

1. IPBES Global Assessment
2. Ban on veterinary diclofenac in India
3. Founding of TRAFFIC
4. IPBES invasive alien species assessment

Select the correct order:

Correct Answer: C [3-2-1-4]

Explanation:

1976, 2006, 2019, 2023.

17.  

Target 6 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework deals with:

Correct Answer: A [invasive alien species]

Explanation:

Target 6 seeks to cut the introduction and establishment of invasive alien species by at least 50 per cent by 2030.

18.  

The case M. K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India relates to:

Correct Answer: B [the Great Indian Bustard and power lines]

Explanation:

The Supreme Court case concerns overhead power lines killing Great Indian Bustards in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

19.  

Consider the following about the Ganga river dolphin:

1. Dams and barrages fragment its habitat.
2. It often drowns after being caught in fishing nets.
3. It is the national aquatic animal of India.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1, 2 and 3]

Explanation:

Dams and barrages fragment its habitat, it drowns in fishing nets, and it was declared the national aquatic animal in 2009.

20.  

Vilayati kikar, an invasive tree of India's dry lands, is:

Correct Answer: D [Prosopis juliflora]

Explanation:

Prosopis juliflora, called vilayati kikar, is a Central and South American tree that forms invasive thickets in India's dry lands.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2023

'Invasive Species Specialist Group' (that develops Global Invasive Species Database) belongs to which one of the following organizations?

Correct Answer: A [The International Union for Conservation of Nature]

Explanation:

The Invasive Species Specialist Group, which manages the Global Invasive Species Database, is part of IUCN's Species Survival Commission.

22.  
UPSC Prelims 2018

Why is a plant called Prosopis juliflora often mentioned in the news?

Correct Answer: B [It tends to reduce the biodiversity in the area in which it grows.]

Explanation:

Prosopis juliflora forms dense invasive thickets that suppress native plants, reducing biodiversity where it grows.

23.  
UPSC Prelims 2018

The term "sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction" is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of

Correct Answer: D [Mankind's overexploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.]

Explanation:

The sixth extinction refers to the present species loss driven by human over-exploitation, habitat loss, pollution and climate change.

24.  
UPSC Prelims 2017

Consider the following statements in respect of Trade Related Analysis of Fauna and Flora in Commerce (TRAFFIC):

1. TRAFFIC is a bureau under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
2. The mission of TRAFFIC is to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [2 only]

Explanation:

TRAFFIC is a WWF–IUCN network, not a UNEP bureau, and its mission is to keep wildlife trade from threatening conservation.

25.  
UPSC Prelims 2014

Other than poaching, what are the possible reasons for the decline in the population of Ganges River Dolphins?

1. Construction of dams and barrages on rivers.
2. Increase in the population of crocodiles in rivers.
3. Getting trapped in fishing nets accidentally.
4. Use of synthetic fertilisers and other agricultural chemicals in crop fields in the vicinity of rivers.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [1, 3 and 4 only]

Explanation:

Dams and barrages, accidental capture in fishing nets and farm chemicals harm the dolphin; crocodiles are not a cause.

➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U18 · Environment and Ecology (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-environment-ecology

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