QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 29 February 2020 – Environment

Solution: b)

The term megadiverse country refers to any one of a group of nations that harbor the majority of Earth’s species and high numbers of endemic species. Conservation International identified 17 megadiverse countries in 1998. Many of them are located in, or partially in, tropical or subtropical regions. They are:

Source

Solution: b)

Amensalism: One species is harmed, the other is unaffected. Example: A large tree shades a small plant, retarding the growth of the small plant. The small plant has no effect on the large tree.

 Commensalism: one species benefits, the other is unaffected. Example: cow dung provides food and shelter to dung beetles. The beetles have no effect on the cows.

Competition: both species are harmed by the interaction. Example: if two species eat the same food, and there isn’t enough for both, both may have access to less food than they would if alone. They both  suffer a shortage of food.

Neutralism: There is no net benefit or harm to either species. Perhaps in some inter-specific interactions, the costs and benefits experienced by each partner are exactly the same so that they sum to zero. It is not clear how often this happens in nature. Neutralism is also sometimes described as the, relationship between two species inhabiting the same space and using the same resources, but that have no effect on each other. In this case, one could argue that they · aren’t interacting at all.

Solution: b)

Ecological succession, the process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire), or even millions of years after a mass extinction.

The community begins with relatively few pioneering plants and animals and develops through increasing complexity until it becomes stable or self-perpetuating as a climax community.

Two different types of succession—primary and secondary—have been distinguished. Primary succession occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions in which the soil is incapable of sustaining life as a result of such factors as lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from a retreating glacier. Secondary succession occurs in areas where a community that previously existed has been removed; it is typified by smaller-scale disturbances that do not eliminate all life and nutrients from the environment.

Increased niche development is the characteristic feature of Ecological succession.

Solution: d)

All the above organisms involved in nitrogen cycle.

Solution: a)

The NGT has the power to hear all civil cases relating to environmental issues and questions that are linked to the implementation of laws listed in Schedule I of the NGT Act. These include the following:

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;

The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

This means that any violations pertaining only to these laws, or any order / decision taken by the Government under these laws can be challenged before the NGT. Importantly, the NGT has not been vested with powers to hear any matter relating to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and various laws enacted by States relating to forests, tree preservation etc. Therefore, specific and substantial issues related to these laws cannot be raised before the NGT.