ECOLOGY SECTION TEST

WITH SOLUTIONS

This section test is taken from :

ISBN : 9789385846656

Max. Marks : 40

No. of Qs. 20

Time : 20 min.

1. Which of the following statements about food chains and

energy flow through ecosystem is false?

(a) a single organism can feed at several trophic levels
(b) detritivores feed at all trophic levels except the
producer level
(c) the lower the trophic level at which an organism
feeds,

(d) those are not producers are consumers
2. Biomagnification refers to
(a) absorption of a chemical from the media to
concentrations in the organisms tissue that are greater
than in surrounding environment

(b) tendency of some chemicals to become increasingly
concentrated at successively higher trophic levels in a
food chain

(c) the tendency for a compound to accumulate in an
organisms tissue

(d) all the statements are incorrect
3. Which of the following character make a species susceptible
to extinction?

(a) large population size

(b) feeding at high trophic level in food chain

(c) wide range of distributions

(d) small body size
4. Choose the incorrect statement:

(a) Nilgiri biosphere reserve is the 1st biosphere reserve
in India

(b) all land with tree cover of canopy density of between
10 to 40% is known as open forest

(c) Western ghats and Eastern Himalayas are two hotspots
in India

(d) the Earth summit held in 1992 at Rio de Jannerio to
prevent ozone depletion at stratosphere
5. At the earth summit held in Rio de Janeiro, a globalization
plan was adopted with aim of integrating environmental
imperatives and developmental aspirations. The Global
Action Plan is known as

(a) Agenda 22
(b) Agenda 32

(c) Agenda 21
(d) Agenda 31
6. About 99% of all liquid fresh water on Earth is found in

(a) lakes, including the Great Lakes of North America

(b) rivers such as the Amazon, Nile, and Mississippi
watersheds

(c) underground aquifers

(d) the upper few meters of topsoil
7. The realized niche of an organism is

(a) the area a species can occupy in the face of exploitative
competition

(b) the habitat of a species within a community resulting
from clumping

(c) the habitat that exists in nature as opposed to the ideal

Date : ........./......../................

(d) the life pattern that the organism actually assumes
8. Consider the following pairs:


Protected area
Well-known for

1. Bhiterkanika, Orissa Salt Water Crocodile

2. Desert National Park, Great Indian Bustard
Rajasthan

3. Eravikulam, Kerala Hoolak Gibbon

Which of the pairs given above is / are correctly matched ?

(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2

(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
9. How does National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) help in
protecting the Indian agriculture?

1. NBA checks the biopiracy and protects the indigenous
and traditional genetic resources.

2. NBA directly monitors and supervises the scientific
research on genetic modification of crop plants.

3. Application for Intellectual Property Rights related to
genetic/biological resources cannot be made without
the approval of NBA.

Which of the statements given above is /are correct?

(a) 1only
(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3
10. Three of the following criteria have contributed to the
recognition of Western Ghats , Sri Lanka and Indo Burma
regions as hotspots of biodiversity

1. Species richness

2. Vegetation density

3. Endemism

4. Ethno-botanical importance

5. Threat perception

6. Adaption of flora and fauna to warm and humid
conditions

Which three of the above are correct criteria in this context?

(a) 1, 2 and 6
(b) 2, 4 and 6

(c) 1, 3 and 5
(d) 3, 4 and 6
11. Biodiversity forms the basis for human existence in

the following ways

1. Soil formation
2. Prevention of soil erosion

3. Recycling of waste 4. Pollination of crops

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4

(c) 1 and 4
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
12. Which of the following can be threats to the biodiversity of
a geographical area?

1. Global warming

2. Fragmentation of habitat

3. Invasion of alien species

4. Promotion of vegetarianism

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 4
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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13. What factor does not contribute to the rapid loss of nutrients
from terrestrial ecosystems?

1. Clear cutting native forests

2. Early seral stages

3. Climax communities

4. Low diversity

Choose the correct option from the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3

(c) 3 only
(d) 3 and 4
14. When two organisms attempt to utilize the same resource,
the result is:

1. A fundamental niche
2. Competition
3. Commensalism
4. Mutualism

Choose the correct option from the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 only

(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
15. To maintain ecological balance, the area under forest
should be
(a) 10%
(b) 23%
(c) 33%
(d) 53%
16. Green Muffler is related to which type of pollution.
(a) Air
(b) Noise
(c) Water
(d) Soil
17. Which one of the following is the largest ecosystem of the
world?

(a) Ocean
(b) Grass Law
(c) Mountain
(d) Forest
18. Which one of the following is not correctly matched.

(a) Rajaji National Park : Elephant

(b) Periyar National Park : Hangul

(c) Manas National Park : Elephant

(d) Dudhwa National Park : Tiger

19. According to the report released by World Resources

Institute (WRI) regarding carbon emission by India, find
out the correct statement.

1. India Fourth Largest Carbon Emitter in World.

2. Indias greenhouse gas emission accounts for 6.96%
of the world.
3. Countries like China, Mexico and Japan are way
ahead of India in terms of their per capita contribution
to the overall emissions.
Codes:

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3
(d) all of the above
20. According to the report submitted WHO Report there are
four ways to reduce health risks from climate pollutants

1. Reducing vehicle emissions by implementing higher
emissions and efficiency standards.
2. Policies and investments that prioritize dedicated
rapid transit such as buses and trains and foster safe
pedestrian and cycle networks can promote multiple
benefits, including: safer active travel and reduced
health risks from air and noise pollution, physical
inactivity, and road traffic injuries.

3. Providing cleaner and more efficient stove and fuel
alternatives to the approximately 2.8 billion lowincome households worldwide

4. Encouraging high and middle-income populations to
increase their consumption of nutritious plant-based
foods could reduce heart disease and some cancers,
and slow methane emissions associated with some
animal-sourced foods.
Codes:

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3
(d) All of these

HINTS & EXPLANATIONS

1.

2.

(b) In ecology, energy flow, also called the calorific flow,

refers to the flow of energy through a food chain. In an
ecosystem, ecologists seek to quantify the relative importance
of different component species and feeding relationships.
(b) Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or
biological magnification, occurs when the concentration of a
substance, such as DDT or mercury, in an organism exceeds
the background concentration of the substance in its diet. This
increase can occur as a result of:

Rajasthan.

The Eravikulam National Park was established to protect

the Nilgiri tahir (wild goat) species.

9. (d)
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) checks the
biopiracy and protects the indigeneous and traditional genetic
resources. It directly monitors and supervises the scientific
research on genetic modification of crop plants application
for intellectual property Rights related to genetic biological
resources cannot be made without the approval of NBA.

Persistence where the substance cant be broken down

by environmental processes

Food chain energetics where the substance

concentration increases progressively as it moves up a food
chain

Low or non-existent rate of internal degradation or

excretion of the substance often due to water-insolubility.

3.

(b) Feeding at high trophic level in food chain make specie

susceptible to extinction.

4.

(b) All land with tree cover canopy density ranges between
10 % to 40 % is known as open forest.

Biodiversity Hotspot selection criteria, vegetation Density is

5. (c)
Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented
action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable
development. It is a product of the UN Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN,
other multilateral organizations, and individual governments
around the world that can be executed at local, national,
and global levels. The 21 in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st
Century. It has been affirmed and modified at subsequent UN
conferences.

11. (d) Biological diversity helps in the formation and

6. (c)
An underground aquifer is a body of saturated rock
through which water can easily move. Aquifers must be
both permeable and porous and include such rock types
as sandstone, conglomerate, fractured limestone and
unconsolidated sand and gravel. Fractured volcanic rocks
such as columnar basalts also make good aquifers. The rubble
zones between volcanic flows are generally both porous and
permeable and make excellent aquifers.

10. (c) To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict

criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants
(> 0.5 percent of the worlds total) as endemics, and it has
to have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat. So we
choose Species richness as well as Endemism. Along with
this Threat perception is necessary to take, because it makes
the base of this concept. Adaptation of flora is an arbitrary
option, Ethno-botanical importance does nothing with the
also discarded.
maintenance of soil structure and the retention of moisture
and nutrient levels. Biodiversity supports ecosystem services
including air quality, climate water purification, pollination,
and prevention of erosion.
12. (a) Except promotion of vegetarianism all other acts are
threats to the biodiversity of a geographical area.
13. (c) In ecology, climax community, or climatic climax
community, is a historic term that expressed a biological
community of plants and animals and fungi which, through
the process of ecological succession the development of
vegetation in an area over time had reached a steady state.
This equilibrium was thought to occur because the climax
community is composed of species best adapted to average
conditions in that area.
14. (b) Since a community comprises all the species that occur
at a particular location, one of the most important things about
communities is how the species interact with one another.

7. (d)
The realized niche of an organism is the life pattern that
the organism actually assumes.
8. (b)
Bhiterkanika, Orissa is a protected area for salt
water crocodile, where breeding is the main purpose of that
protected area.

Great Indian Bustard is protected in desert area of

Four different types of interactions between different species

(inter specific interactions) have been identified:

Competition -Two organisms mutually harm one another

Predatorprey or parasitehost- One organism benefits, the

other is harmed

Mutualism- Both organisms benefit

Commensalism- One organism benefits, the other is not

affected

15. (c) 33%

16. (b) Green muffler are the barriers grown near noisy places
to reduce the impact of nice. Normally 4 to 5 rows of green
plants are grown near noisy places like highways or industrial
area.

17. (a) Ocean is considered to be the largest ecosystem among

all the ecosystems on earth.
18. (b) Periyar National Park is famous tiger reserve of India
19. (a) Countries like China, Mexico and Brazil are way ahead
of India in terms of their per capita contribution to the overall
emissions.
20. (d) All of the above statements are true.