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

A newborn differs from male and female population of rhinoceros in that it has

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. two horns

  2. single horn

  3. no horn

  4. three horns

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

Correct as it is stated in the passage "A single horn... is absent in newborn".

Multiple choice

Which word in the passage means 'preservation, protection or restoration'?

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. Spanned

  2. Newborn

  3. Conservation

  4. Excessive

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

Conservation means preservation, protection or restoration.

Multiple choice

In what way does the Great Indian Bustard resemble an ostrich?

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. Horizontal body only

  2. Horizontal body and uncovered legs

  3. Having a heavy body

  4. Both are flightless birds
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

"They resemble ostrich in structure in having a horizontal body with uncovered legs but are the heaviest of the flying birds..."

Multiple choice

What is the major cause of decline in the population of rhinoceros?

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. Protected areas

  2. Presence of horn

  3. Being the second largest rhinoceros

  4. Illegal hunting

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

"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." Hence, both are similar in meaning and the answer to the question.

Multiple choice

Which of the following factors are responsible for the dispersal of human settlements?

  1. Scarcity of water
  2. High density of existing population
  3. Low soil fertility
  4. Fear of invasion

  1. Only 1 and 3

  2. 1, 3 and 4

  3. Only 1, 2 and 3

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

The factors that influence patterns of settlement are:

Economic and Human Influences Generally, the promise of material reward is the most important factor in human settlement. In this case, the interest in gaining more profit in proportion to labor exerted is central in dictating settlement patterns. These are necessary, but not sufficient causes of settlement. Parts of this variable include the promise of employment and a stable economy.

Physical Influences The physical environment is next in importance. In agricultural settlement, the nature of the soil and access to both water and transport are essential ingredients in making sense out of settlement patterns. But even further, things such as the safety and stability of the existing settlement is equally important. Besides, the existing density of population, if high, leads to dispersal of population.

Technological Influences A more specific consideration is the existence of well-established patterns of communication, transportation and markets, which are all central to this variable. To some extent, it is connected to the physical environment, as the technological makeup of the existing settlement exists as an adaptation to the nature of the topography and the availability of resources.

Historical Influences Ethnic compatibility, speaking the same language and the basic cultural forms of co-existence cannot be left out of this discussion. The historic nature of settlement speaks to the specific language and cultural norms that make up a society, making it easier for one that shares these to fit in, and discouraging strangers. This not only makes it easy for similar settlers to fit in, but also makes the community more and more cohesive. Fear of foreign invasions to an area leads to migration to safe places.

Multiple choice

_________ are the species which are in the danger of extinction.

  1. Normal species

  2. Endangered species

  3. Vulnerable species

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

Endangered species are those that are at risk of extinction in the near future due to factors like habitat loss, poaching, climate change, or declining population numbers. These species require conservation efforts to prevent them from becoming extinct. Normal species have stable populations, vulnerable species are at risk but not immediately threatened, and rare species have small populations but are not necessarily endangered.

Multiple choice

Which cause in the above mentioned passage is responsible for mass extinction

The four causes of extinction are:

1. Alteration of habitat
2. Hunting
3. Legal lapses
4. Nature of man

  1. Habitat alteration

  2. Hunting

  3. Legal lapses

  4. Nature of man
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Habitat alteration is the main cause of massive depletion of wild life. Absence of cover or shelter, reduction in movement area and destruction of wild plants deprive the animals from shelter, protection and food, which lead to the death of a lot of animals in a very short period of time, resulting in mass extinction.

Multiple choice

What is the criterion for categorising a species as vulnerable by IUCN?

  1. Likely to become endangered in the near future

  2. Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

  3. High risk of extinction in the wild

  4. High risk of endangerment in the wild
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A species which has high risk of endangerment in the wild is categorised as 'vulnerable' by IUCN.

Multiple choice

Biosphere reserves are being threatened with

  1. rainfall

  2. pollution

  3. soil erosion

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

Biosphere reserves face significant threats from various forms of pollution including air pollution, water contamination, and industrial waste. Pollution disrupts delicate ecological balances, harms wildlife, and degrades habitat quality. While rainfall and soil erosion are natural processes, and population rate affects many ecosystems, pollution represents the most direct and widespread anthropogenic threat to protected areas.

Multiple choice

Coral bleaching means

  1. sudden death of coral

  2. loss of zooxanthellae

  3. proliferation of corals

  4. none of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Coral bleaching means loss of zooxanthellae

Multiple choice

Which of the following is the root cause behind the extinction of biodiversity?

  1. Habitat destruction

  2. Population explosion

  3. Over grazing

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

Population Explosion is the root cause behind the extinction of biodiversity. Options 1, 3 and 4 represent only the symptoms through which population explosion destroys biodiversity. As the world's population grows unsustainably, so do its unyielding demands for water, land, trees and fossil fuels — all of which come at a steep price for already endangered plants and animals.

Multiple choice

Which of the following are true?

  1. Habitat fragmentation is a threat to biodiversity which arises out of urbanisation.
  2. Emerald Network was set up in Europe in 1998 to conserve the wild flora and fauna.
  3. Developing habitat corridors for preservation of species might put biodiversity at risk due to interbreeding of species from different locations.

  1. Both 1 and 2

  2. Both 2 and 3

  3. Both 1 and 3

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

Urbanisation can split up habitat areas, causing animals to lose both their natural habitat and the ability to move between regions to use all of the resources they need to survive. Habitat fragmentation due to human development is an ever-increasing threat to biodiversity, and habitat corridors are a possible solution. The Emerald network is an ecological network to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats of Europe, which was launched in 1998 by the Council of Europe as a part of its work under the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats or Bern Convention that came into force on 1 June, 1982. Interbreeding is one of the aims of building habitat corridors, since it promotes genetic diversity and improves the overall population.

Multiple choice

In the IUCN Red Data List of Threatened Species, the word “Threatened” deals with

  1. Vulnerable species
  2. Endangered species
  3. Near threatened species
  4. Extinct species
  5. Critically endangered species

  1. only 1, 2 and 5

  2. only 1, 2, 3 and 5

  3. only 2, 3 and 5

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

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories, depending on the degree to which they are threatened:

Vulnerable species

Endangered species
Critically endangered species “Threatened” and “Extinct” are two completely different terms. Hence, option 4 is deleted. Considering this difference, you might have marked option 2 as the right answer.

Multiple choice

Removal of keystone predators from a community will result in

  1. decrease in primary productivity

  2. dominance of an alternate predator

  3. usual decline in species diversity

  4. increase in prey population densities

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Removal of keystone predators from a community will result in increase in prey population densities. Keystone predators are the predators that have an extremely large effect on its surroundings relative to its affluence.