Tag: zoology

Questions Related to zoology

Species diversity is maximum in 

  1. Tropical rain forest

  2. Temperate forest

  3. Deserts

  4. Hillslopes


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The tropical rainforest is a biome located around the equator. It has the highest biodiversity of all the earth's ecosystems, both in flora and fauna as well as microbes. This high diversity is due to the optimal growing conditions at equatorial locations. Abundant rainfall and warm temperatures, as well as intense sunlight. 

Therefore, the correct answer is option A.

Term ecosystem was given by

  1. Odum

  2. Koestler

  3. Tansley

  4. Mobius and Forbes


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The ecosystem is a segment of biosphere consisting of a community of living beings and the abiotic or physical environment, both interacting and exchanging materials between them. The word ecosystem was first coined by Tansley in 1935.

Ecosystem is a self-sustaining unit because it consists of

  1. Plants and animals only

  2. Physical environment only

  3. Microbes only

  4. All of the above


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Under natural conditions, all living organisms in an ecosystem are interacting, co-habitating and interdependent. This enables the self-sustenance in an ecosystem. A change in any of these results in collapse of the ecosystem. Thus the correct answer is option D.

There are several compelling pieces of scientific evidence that support the occurrence of evolution. Answer the following four questions  using the choices provided. Each of the following terms may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
The presence of penguins on the South American, southern African, and Antarctic continents indicates that at one time, these continents were a single land mass. This demonstrates the concept of             

  1. Fossil record

  2. Biogeography

  3. Homologous structures

  4. Allopatric speciation

  5. Natural selection


Correct Option: B
Explanation:
A. Fossil record is the evolutionary information retrieved from the fossils of animals and plants.
B. Biogeography is the study of the geographical distribution of life forms on earth.
C. Homologous organs are the organs that have same basic structure but different functions.
D. Changing climate may isolate population on mountain peaks or in remnant lakes, or rare migrants may colonise new areas such as the Galapagos and Hawaiian islands. This geographic isolation is termed as allopatry and gives rise to allopatric speciation.
E. According to Darwin's concept of natural selection, as a struggle for existence, only those organisms could survive which have favourable variation to adapt with the environmental conditions. In other words, struggle for existence results in survival of the fittest which means that natural selection tends to favour those organisms which are most fit to survive with the reproductive age in a particular environment and to produce offspring.
Hence, the statement 'presence of penguins on the South American, southern African, and Antarctic continents indicates that at one time, these continents were a single land mass' shows the geographical distribution of penguins i.e. it demonstrates the concept of 'Biogeography'.
So, the correct answer is 'Biogeography'.

Which of the following represents the proper ecological hierarchy?

  1. Population --> community --> ecosystem --> biosphere

  2. Ecosystem --> community --> population --> biosphere

  3. Population --> ecosystem --> community --> biosphere

  4. Biosphere --> ecosystem --> population --> community

  5. Community --> population --> biosphere --> ecosystem


Correct Option: A
Explanation:
An ecosystem is all the living things in an area interacting with all of the abiotic parts of the environment.
A population is a summation of all the organisms of the same group or species, which live in a particular geographical area, and have the capability of interbreeding.
The community is an interacting group of various species in a common location. 
The biosphere is an irregularly shaped, relatively thin zone in which life is concentrated on or near the Earth's surface and throughout its waters. Thus, the correct answer is option A.

Which of the following communities is more vulnerable to invasion by outsider animals and plants?

  1. Mangroves

  2. Tropical evergreen forests

  3. Temperate forests

  4. Oceanic island communities


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Some communities such as tropical oceanic islands appear to be particularly vulnerable to invasions. The vacant niche hypothesis suggests that island communities and some others are relatively impoverished in numbers of native species and thus cannot provide biological resistance to newcomers. Hence, they are most vulnerable.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D.

The organisms spending most of the time in transitional area between two communities are called

  1. Exotic species

  2. Edge species

  3. Keystone species

  4. Critical link species


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Ecotone is the transition zone between two communities, e.g., forest and grassland. Ecotone has an admixture of species belonging to both the communities. Some specific species also occur exclusively in ecotone. As a result, ecotone possesses higher number of species than either of the two communities. The increased number and even density of species in a region of ecotone or community border is called Edge effect. The species which are found primarily, most abundantly or spend most of their time in ecotone or community boundary are known as Edge species.

'Bodhi' tree at Gaya is

  1. $200$ years old

  2. More than $2500$ years old

  3. $1000-500$ years old

  4. $200-1000$ years old


Correct Option: B

A unit of land delimited by natural boundary and having patches of different biotic communities is known as

  1. Ecosystem

  2. Landscape

  3. Biome

  4. Both B and C


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

An ecosystem is defined as a part of the biosphere which consists of many biological communities. A biome is a much larger unit in the heirarchy where many ecosystems are found. 
A landscape is a patch that consists of different biotic communities and it does not have a fixed natural boundary So the correct answer is a 'Landscape'. 

Plant species with wide range of distribution evolves into local populations called 

  1. Ecosystem

  2. Population

  3. Ecotype

  4. Ephemeral

  5. Biome


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

An ecotype is a population (or subspecies or race) that is adapted to local environmental conditions. The implication is that those individuals which were best adapted to the prevailing conditions left the most offspring. Moreover, those more successful individuals carry genes that are partly responsible for their success in that environment. Thus, the adaptations of these ecotypes are based on the interactions of their own special sets of genes with their own environment.


So, the correct answer is 'Ecotype'.