Environmental Studies · Biology

Biodiversity and Conservation

2,388 Questions

Biodiversity and conservation questions address threats to ecosystems, climate change impacts, and habitat loss. These topics are essential for environmental science sections in major competitive exams. Practicing these questions clarifies concepts regarding species extinction and ecological management.

Habitat loss consequencesClimate change impactsEcosystem degradation causesDesert biodiversity threatsForest diversity threatsResource extraction effects

Biodiversity and Conservation Questions

Multiple choice general knowledge

Which of the following does NOT cause animals to become endangered?

  1. pollution

  2. hunting and fishing

  3. the introduction of exotic species

  4. the increasing size of predators
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Natural predator populations are part of balanced ecosystems and do not inherently cause species to become endangered. The other options, pollution, hunting/fishing, and introduced exotic species, are all major human-caused drivers of species endangerment through habitat destruction, overexploitation, and competition.

Multiple choice general knowledge

1.Save our Tigers campaign is collaborative effort from

  1. Aircel & WWF India

  2. Nokia & airtel

  3. Sony & HP

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The 'Save our Tigers' campaign was indeed a collaborative initiative between Aircel (a telecom company) and WWF India (World Wide Fund for Nature-India) launched around 2010 to raise awareness about tiger conservation in India. It was a successful corporate-social responsibility partnership.

Multiple choice general knowledge

The plant species which got Threatened after the Extinction of Dodo bird is

  1. Alvaria Minor

  2. Calvaria Minor

  3. alvaria Major

  4. Calvaria Major
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Calvaria major (dodo tree) depended on dodos to germinate its seeds - the seeds had to pass through the dodo's digestive tract to sprout. After dodos went extinct around 1681, the tree could not reproduce naturally and became threatened. Options A and C misspell the name as 'Alvaria'.

Multiple choice general knowledge

The dramatic decline in Tiger population is a direct consequence of:

  1. Poaching for Tiger Skins

  2. Destruction of habitat due to Human Over-population

  3. Poaching for Asian Medicines

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Tiger populations have declined due to multiple threats: poaching for their skins (decorative trade), poaching for traditional Asian medicine (bones, body parts), and habitat destruction from human population growth and deforestation. All three factors contribute significantly to the dramatic decline, making 'All of the above' correct. Each individual option represents a major documented threat.

Multiple choice general knowledge math & puzzles

Find the statement that must be true according to the given information. Seahorse populations have declined everywhere that seahorses are fished. During the past five years, seahorse populations have decreased by 50%. Last year, biologists met to discuss what might be done to reverse this trend.

  1. Seahorses are likely to become extinct within five years.

  2. One way to increase seahorse populations is to ban the fishing of seahorses.

  3. Biologists from all over the world are working to save the seahorses.

  4. Seahorse fishermen have spoken out against the biologists.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

To solve this question, the user needs to carefully read and analyze the information provided. The statement that must be true according to the given information is option B, "One way to increase seahorse populations is to ban the fishing of seahorses." This conclusion can be drawn from the information that seahorse populations have declined everywhere that seahorses are fished, and that biologists met to discuss what might be done to reverse this trend. If seahorse populations have decreased by 50% in the past five years, it suggests that current methods of fishing and seahorse conservation are not working. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that banning the fishing of seahorses could help to increase populations. Option A is incorrect because the information does not provide evidence that seahorses are likely to become extinct within five years. Option C is incorrect because the information does not indicate that biologists from all over the world are working to save the seahorses. Option D is incorrect because the information does not mention the opinions of seahorse fishermen.

The Answer is: B

Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology
  1. What do you think has the most harmful effect on wildlife populations?

  1. (a) pollution

  2. (b) habitat destruction

  3. (c) hunting

  4. (d) predators
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Habitat destruction is widely recognized by ecologists as the single greatest threat to wildlife populations globally. While pollution, hunting, and predation all impact wildlife, the loss, fragmentation, and degradation of habitats removes the essential resources species need to survive and reproduce, affecting entire ecosystems rather than individual species.

Multiple choice

Which is the largest living rhinoceros in the world?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the question that follows:

The Indian rhinoceros is also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and Indian one-horned rhinoceros. It is the fifth largest land animal and is primarily found in north-east Assam and also in the protected areas of the Terai of Nepal, where populations are confined to the grasslands along the rivers in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is second-largest living rhinoceros in the world only next to white rhinoceros with an average body length of three hundred and ten to three-hundred and eighty centimeters. Its weight is around two thousand kilograms. A single horn is present in both males and females but is absent in newborn. It has thick, silver-brown skin, which becomes pinkish near the large skin folds that cover its body. Poaching for the horn of rhinoceros became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino. After the conservation measures, illegal hunting almost ended in the twentieth century. Once rhino population spanned the Indo-Gangetic Plains, but excessive hunting has reduced its population drastically.

  1. One-horned rhinoceros

  2. Indian rhinoceros

  3. African rhinoceros

  4. White rhinoceros

  5. Dummy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Correct as it is stated in the passage "It is the second-largest living rhinoceros in the world only next to white rhinoceros... ".

Multiple choice

Where are bustards usually found?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question.

The Great Indian Bustard is a bustard found in India and adjacent areas of Pakistan. Bustards are large and highly terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and grasslands. They resemble ostrich in structure in having a horizontal body with uncovered legs but are the heaviest of the flying birds, unlike ostrich which is among the flightless birds. Their distribution is wide ranging from the dry areas of both India and Pakistan but is restricted to some small pockets of central and western India and eastern Pakistan. It is usually found in dry and semi-dry grasslands, open areas with thorny weeds, but it avoids irrigated areas. The rapid decrease in the population of India’s bustards and their endangered status has forced the Ministry of Environment and Forests to form species recovery programs in 2012 for the Great Indian Bustard, the Bengal Florican and the Lesser Florican which are still to be implemented.

  1. Drier areas

  2. Wet areas

  3. Old buildings

  4. Railway stations
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer.

Multiple choice

Which word in the passage means 'supplied with water'?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question.

The Great Indian Bustard is a bustard found in India and adjacent areas of Pakistan. Bustards are large and highly terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and grasslands. They resemble ostrich in structure in having a horizontal body with uncovered legs but are the heaviest of the flying birds, unlike ostrich which is among the flightless birds. Their distribution is wide ranging from the dry areas of both India and Pakistan but is restricted to some small pockets of central and western India and eastern Pakistan. It is usually found in dry and semi-dry grasslands, open areas with thorny weeds, but it avoids irrigated areas. The rapid decrease in the population of India’s bustards and their endangered status has forced the Ministry of Environment and Forests to form species recovery programs in 2012 for the Great Indian Bustard, the Bengal Florican and the Lesser Florican which are still to be implemented.

  1. Implemented

  2. Irrigated

  3. Endangered

  4. Uncovered
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Irrigated means supplied or filled with water.

Multiple choice

Why did the Indian Ministry of Environment form recovery programs for the Great Indian Bustard?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question.

The Great Indian Bustard is a bustard found in India and adjacent areas of Pakistan. Bustards are large and highly terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and grasslands. They resemble ostrich in structure in having a horizontal body with uncovered legs but are the heaviest of the flying birds, unlike ostrich which is among the flightless birds. Their distribution is wide ranging from the dry areas of both India and Pakistan but is restricted to some small pockets of central and western India and eastern Pakistan. It is usually found in dry and semi-dry grasslands, open areas with thorny weeds, but it avoids irrigated areas. The rapid decrease in the population of India’s bustards and their endangered status has forced the Ministry of Environment and Forests to form species recovery programs in 2012 for the Great Indian Bustard, the Bengal Florican and the Lesser Florican which are still to be implemented.

  1. To rescue its decreasing population

  2. To promote irrigated areas

  3. To distribute them in more areas

  4. To show their support to Pakistan
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

"The rapid decrease in the population of India’s bustards and their endangered status has forced the Ministry of Environment and Forests to form species recovery programs in 2012 for the Great Indian Bustard..."

Multiple choice

In which two countries is the 'Great Indian Bustard' found?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question.

The Great Indian Bustard is a bustard found in India and adjacent areas of Pakistan. Bustards are large and highly terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and grasslands. They resemble ostrich in structure in having a horizontal body with uncovered legs but are the heaviest of the flying birds, unlike ostrich which is among the flightless birds. Their distribution is wide ranging from the dry areas of both India and Pakistan but is restricted to some small pockets of central and western India and eastern Pakistan. It is usually found in dry and semi-dry grasslands, open areas with thorny weeds, but it avoids irrigated areas. The rapid decrease in the population of India’s bustards and their endangered status has forced the Ministry of Environment and Forests to form species recovery programs in 2012 for the Great Indian Bustard, the Bengal Florican and the Lesser Florican which are still to be implemented.

  1. West Pakistan and East India

  2. East Pakistan and West India

  3. West Pakistan and West India

  4. East Pakistan and East India
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

It is stated in the passage.

Multiple choice

What was the homeland of Indian rhinoceros in the past?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the question that follows:

The Indian rhinoceros is also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and Indian one-horned rhinoceros. It is the fifth largest land animal and is primarily found in north-east Assam and also in the protected areas of the Terai of Nepal, where populations are confined to the grasslands along the rivers in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is second-largest living rhinoceros in the world only next to white rhinoceros with an average body length of three hundred and ten to three-hundred and eighty centimeters. Its weight is around two thousand kilograms. A single horn is present in both males and females but is absent in newborn. It has thick, silver-brown skin, which becomes pinkish near the large skin folds that cover its body. Poaching for the horn of rhinoceros became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino. After the conservation measures, illegal hunting almost ended in the twentieth century. Once rhino population spanned the Indo-Gangetic Plains, but excessive hunting has reduced its population drastically.

  1. Indo-Gangetic plains

  2. North-East plains

  3. Confined to Himalayas

  4. North-East Assam

  5. Terai of Nepal
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Correct as it is stated in the passage. "Once rhino population spanned the Indo-Gangetic Plains."