Environmental Studies · Biology

Biodiversity and Conservation

2,266 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

What happens when too many of one species of fish is fished too much?

  1. The fish can't reproduce to recover their numbers

  2. The number of other fish goes up

  3. People eat less fish

  4. Nothing happens
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

When a fish population is overfished, the breeding stock is depleted to levels where they cannot reproduce fast enough to sustain or recover their population size.

Multiple choice

When coral reefs are in trouble, the coral turns white, in a process called coral bleaching, caused by

  1. The sun's rays heating the coral

  2. Local pollution of coral reefs

  3. The effect of climate change in heating our ocean

  4. Overfishing of coral reefs
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Coral bleaching occurs when corals experience stress, primarily from rising ocean temperatures driven by global climate change, causing them to expel the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues.

Multiple choice

Select all of the correct answers from below. Overfishing affects…

  1. Certain fish species

  2. Marine mammals like sharks, dolphins and seals

  3. Marine plants

  4. Humans
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A,B,C,D Correct answer
Explanation

Overfishing has cascading effects throughout the entire food web, impacting targeted fish species, non-target marine mammals through bycatch or food depletion, marine plants due to ecosystem imbalances, and humans who rely on fish for food and livelihoods.

Multiple choice

Which of the following would NOT cause a species' population to crash?

  1. forest fires

  2. drought

  3. immigration of a new predator

  4. ample space in an environment
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Ample space provides more habitat and resources, which supports population growth or stability rather than causing a population crash. In contrast, forest fires, droughts, and new predators are destructive factors that can drastically reduce population sizes.

Multiple choice

in danger of disappearing forever

  1. endangered

  2. extinction

  3. instinct

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

Endangered species are those at risk of becoming extinct. This means there are very few individuals left in the wild.

Multiple choice

Why is over-fishing in the North Sea a problem?

  1. Depletes fish stock

  2. Increases ecosystems

  3. Decreases pollution

  4. Depletes oil reserves
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Over-fishing occurs when fish are caught faster than they can reproduce, leading to a depletion of fish stocks and threatening the long-term viability of the fishing industry.

Multiple choice

Which among the following leads to the extinction of a particular species?

  1. Poaching

  2. Killing

  3. Hunting

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

Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, which is a major driver of species extinction. While hunting and killing are general terms, poaching specifically refers to the illegal, often commercial, act that threatens biodiversity.

Multiple choice

Extinction happens most commonly because of...

  1. drinking too much water

  2. mitosis

  3. excsessive hunting & fishing

  4. apoptosis
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Extinction is primarily driven by human activities that destroy habitats or reduce populations directly, such as excessive hunting and fishing. Mitosis and apoptosis are biological cellular processes, not causes of species extinction.

Multiple choice

An example of habitat destruction would be...

  1. fishing at a lake

  2. building another level on a skyscraper

  3. planting trees at a school

  4. cutting down trees for a subdivision
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Habitat destruction involves the removal or alteration of an environment to the point where it can no longer support the native species. Cutting down trees for a subdivision is a clear example of this.

Multiple choice

Humans affect biodiversity by...

  1. creating polution

  2. using cell phones

  3. going boating

  4. not paying taxes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Pollution is a major human-driven factor that degrades ecosystems and reduces biodiversity. Note: The option contains a spelling error (polution vs pollution).