DAY – 23 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: C

Difference between Habitat and Environment

• A habitat always has life in it, whereas the environment does not necessarily have life in it.
• All habitats are environments, but all environments are not habitats.
• A habitat is always a preference of one species.
• An environment could be a preference of many species that could eventually become many habitats.
• Usually, the environment governs the properties of a habitat, but not vice versa.

Solution: D

Autogenic and Allogenic Succession

• When succession is brought about by living inhabitants of that community itself, the process is called autogenic succession, while change brought about by outside forces is known as allogenic succession.
• Autogenic succession is driven by the biotic components of an ecosystem.
• Allogenic succession is driven by the abiotic components (fire, flood) of the ecosystem.

Autotrophic and Heterotrophic succession

• Succession in which, initially the green plants are much greater in quantity is known as autotrophic succession; and the ones in which the heterotrophs are greater in quantity is known as heterotrophic succession.

Solution: C

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) established in 1991 is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Women & Child Development for socio-economic empowerment of women.

RMK extends micro-credit to the women in the informal sector through a client friendly, without collateral and in a hassle-free manner for income generation activities.

It was registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. The operating model currently followed by RMK is that of a facilitating agency wherein RMK provides loans to NGO-MFIs termed as Intermediary Organizations (IMO) which on-lend to Self Help Groups (SHGs) of women.

https://rmk.nic.in/welcome-rashtriya-mahila-kosh

Solution: A

Energy Flow through an Ecosystem – Trophic Levels

(Trophe = Nourishment)

• A trophic level is the representation of energy flow in an ecosystem.
• The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food chain.
• Trophic level interaction deals with how the members of an ecosystem are connected based on nutritional needs.

•  Energy flows through the trophic levels from producers to subsequent trophic levels is unidirectional.
•  Energy level decreases from the first trophic level upwards due to loss of energy in the form of heat at each trophic level.
•  This energy loss at each trophic level is quite significant. Hence there are usually not more than four-five trophic levels (beyond this the energy available is negligible to support an organism).

Solution: A

The ECGC Limited is a company which provides export credit insurance support to Indian exporters against losses due to non-payment of export dues by overseas buyers due to political and / or commercial risks.

ECGC provides (i) a range of insurance covers to Indian exporters against the risk of non – realization of export proceeds due to commercial or political risks (ii) different types of credit insurance covers to banks and other financial institutions to enable them to extend credit facilities to exporters and (iii) Export Factoring facility for MSME sector which is a package of financial products consisting of working capital financing, credit risk protection, maintenance of sales ledger and collection of export receivables from the buyer located in overseas country.

https://commerce.gov.in/InnerContent.aspx?Id=228

Solution: C

Grazing food chain

• The consumers which start the food chain, utilising the plant or plant part as their food, constitute the grazing food chain.
• For example, in a terrestrial ecosystem, the grass is eaten by a caterpillar, which is eaten by lizard and lizard is eaten by a snake.
• In Aquatic ecosystem phytoplankton (primary producers) are eaten by zooplanktons which are eaten by fishes and fishes are eaten by pelicans.

Detritus food chain

• This type of food chain starts from organic matter of dead and decaying animals and plant bodies from the grazing food chain.
• Dead organic matter or detritus feeding organisms are called detrivores or decomposers.
• The detrivores are eaten by predators.
• In an aquatic ecosystem, the grazing food chain is the major conduit for energy flow.
• As against this, in a terrestrial ecosystem, a much larger fraction of energy flows through the detritus food chain than through the grazing food chain.

Solution: D

Limitations of Ecological Pyramids

• It does not consider the same species belonging to two or more trophic levels.
• It assumes a simple food chain, something that seldom exists in nature; it does not accommodate a food web.
• Moreover, saprophytes (plant, fungus, or microorganism that lives on decaying matter) are not given any place in ecological pyramids even though they play a vital role in the ecosystem.

Solution: D

Who is a Service Voter?

According to the provisions of sub-section (8) of Section 20 of Representation of People Act, 1950, Service Voters are

• Those serving in the Armed Forces of the Union.
• Those serving in a Force to which the Army Act 1950 applies (Assam rifles, CRPF, BSF, ITBP,

SSB, NSG, GREF in BRO (Border Road organisation), CISF etc.

• Member of an Armed Police Force of a State, serving outside that state.
• Those employed under the Government of India, in a post outside India

Solution: D

• The enzyme, nitrogenase which is capable of nitrogen reduction is present exclusively in prokaryotes. Such microbes are called N₂-fixers. These include:

• free-living nitrogen fixing bacteria (non-symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria or nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria) (e.g. aerobic Azotobacter and Beijemickia; anaerobic Clostridium and Rhodospirillum),
• symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria (e.g. Rhizobium) living in association with leguminous plants and non-leguminous root nodule plants and
• some cyanobacteria (a major source of nitrogen fixation in oceans) (blue-green algae. E.g. Nostoc, Anabaena, Spirulina).

Solution: A

Multidimensional Poverty Index

Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is an international measure of acute poverty covering over 100 developing countries. It was developed in 2010 by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme.

The MPI assesses poverty at the individual level. If someone is deprived in a third or more of ten (weighted) indicators, the global index identifies them as ‘MPI poor’, and the extent or intensity of their poverty is measured by the number of deprivations they are experiencing.

https://ophi.org.uk/multidimensional-poverty-index/

Solution: C

Differences between Lagoon and Estuary

• A lagoon is a stretch of salt water separated from the sea by a low sandbank or coral reef.
• Backwaters in Kerala are mostly lagoons where seawater flows inwards through a small inlet that is open towards the sea.
• In estuaries, the water flows fast and strong, while in lagoons the water is shallower and flows sluggishly.
• Estuaries are usually deeper than lagoons. Also, lagoons mostly don’t have any fresh water source while the estuaries have at least one. Lagoons are more saline than estuaries.
• Lagoons are formed due to falling in sea levels (coastline of emergence. E.g. Kerala Coast) whereas estuaries are mostly formed due to rise in sea levels (coastline of submergence. E.g. Konkan coast)

Solution: B

Species diversity

It is the ratio of one species population over total number of organisms across all species in the given biome. ‘Zero’ would be infinite diversity, and ‘one’ represents only one species present.

Species diversity is a measure of the diversity within an ecological community that incorporates both species richness (the number of species in a community) and the evenness of species.

    In general, species diversity decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles.

With very few exceptions, tropics (latitudinal range of 23.5° N to 23.5° S) harbour more species than temperate or polar areas.

Bioprospecting: nations endowed with rich biodiversity explore molecular, genetic and species-level diversity to derive products of economic importance.

Solution: A          

National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400 km² tri-state protected area in northern India for the protection of the Critically Endangered gharial, the red-crowned roof turtle and the Endangered Ganges river dolphin.

Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is a marine wildlife sanctuary located in Odisha and is a very popular tourist attraction of Odisha in India. It is the world’s largest nesting beach for Olive Ridley Turtles. It extends from Dhamra River mouth in the north to Brahmani river mouth in the south.

Solution: B

Foundation species

• Foundation species is a dominant primary producer in an ecosystem both in terms of abundance and influence. Example: kelp in kelp forests and corals in coral reefs.

Keystone species

• Keystone species is a species whose addition to or loss from an ecosystem leads to major changes in the occurrence of at least one other species.
• Certain species in an ecosystem is considered more important in determining the presence of many other species in that ecosystem.
• All top predators (Tiger, Lion, Crocodile etc) are considered as keystone species because they regulate all other animal population indirectly.
• Hence top predators are given much consideration in conservation.
• If keystone species is lost, it will result in the degradation of the whole ecosystem.
• For example, certain plant species (ebony tree, Indian-laurel) exclusively depends upon bats for its pollination. If the bat population is reduced, then regeneration of particular plants becomes more difficult.

Solution: B

PRAGATI:

PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation) is a unique integrating and interactive platform.

• The platform is aimed at addressing common man’s grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments.
• It was developed jointly by Prime Minister’s office (PMO) and National Informatics Centre (NIC) and was launched in 2015.

Unique features:

1. The PRAGATI platform uniquely bundles three latest technologies: Digital data management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology.
2. It also offers a unique combination in the direction of cooperative federalism since it brings on one stage the Secretaries of Government of India and the Chief Secretaries of the States.
3. With this, the Prime Minister is able to discuss the issues with the concerned Central and State officials with full information and latest visuals of the ground level situation. It is also an innovative project in e-governance and good governance.
4. It is a three-tier system (PMO, Union Government Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries of the States).
5. Issues to be flagged before the PM are picked up from the available database regarding Public Grievances, on-going Programmes and pending Projects.

Solution: A

Realms

• Biogeographic realms are large spatial regions within which ecosystems share a broadly similar biota.
• A realm is a continent or sub-continent sized area with unifying features of geography and fauna & flora.
• The Indian region is composed of two realms. They are:

1. the Himalayan region represented by Palearctic Realm and
2. the rest of the sub-continent represented by Malayan Realm

Solution: B

Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a periodic report that summarizes the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention.

https://www.cbd.int/gbo/

Solution: B

Hunar Haat:

• Organized by ministry of minority affairs under “USTTAD” scheme at different parts of the country. It is an exhibition of handicrafts and traditional products made by artisans from the minority communities. These Haat aim to provide market exposure and employment opportunities to artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts.

 Significance:

• “Hunar Haat” have become a successful mission to provide employment and employment opportunities and national as well international markets for thousands of master artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts.

Solution: D

Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. The specific regions where these plants occur are termed as ‘mangrove ecosystem’. These are highly productive but extremely sensitive and fragile. Besides mangroves, the ecosystem also harbours other plant and animal species.

Experiences have proved that the presence of mangrove ecosystems on coastline save lives and property during natural hazards such as cyclones, storm surges and erosion. These ecosystems are also well known for their economic importance. They are breeding, feeding and nursery grounds for many estuarine and marine organisms. Hence, these areas are used for captive and culture fisheries. The ecosystem has a very large unexplored potential for natural products useful for medicinal purposes and also for salt production, apiculture, fuel and fodder, etc.

The distribution of mangrove ecosystem on Indian coastlines indicates that the Sundarban mangroves occupy very large area followed by Andaman-Nicobar Islands and Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.

Rest of the mangrove ecosystems is comparatively smaller.

Solution: D

Zonal councils:

• Statutory bodies established under the States Reorganization Act 1956 and not constitutional bodies. They are only deliberative and advisory bodies.
• Aim:  to promote interstate cooperation and coordination.

There are 5 five Zonal councils namely:

1. The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
2. The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
3. The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West Bengal.
4. The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
5. The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya (vii) Sikkim and (viii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils and their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.

Composition:

• Chairman – The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.
• Vice Chairman – The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.
• Members– Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
• Advisers– One person nominated by the Planning Commission (which has been replaced by NITI Ayog now) for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone.
• Union Ministers are also invited to participate in the meetings of Zonal Councils depending upon necessity.

The main objectives of setting up of Zonal Councils are:

1. Bringing out national integration.
2. Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies.
3. Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences.
4. Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.

Solution: B

Biomagnification stands for Biological Magnification, which means the increase of contaminated substances or toxic chemicals that take place in the food chains. These substances often arise from intoxicated or contaminated environments.

The contaminants include heavy metals namely mercury, arsenic, pesticides such as DDT, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) compounds which are then taken up by organisms because of the food they consume or the intoxication of their environment.

Pollutant needs to satisfy characteristics like long life, mobile, biologically active, soluble in fat to make biomagnification possible

If a pollutant is short-lived, it will be broken down before it can become dangerous. If it is not mobile, it will stay in one place and is unlikely to be taken up by organisms. If the pollutant is soluble in water, it will be excreted by the organism. Pollutants that dissolve in fats, however, may be retained for a long time

Solution: C

A niche is the unique functional role or place of a species in an ecosystem. It is a description of all the biological, physical and chemical factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy and reproduce.

A niche is unique for a species, which means no two species have exact identical niches. Niche plays an important role in conservation of organisms. If we have to conserve species in its native habitat we should have knowledge about the niche requirements of the species and should ensure that all requirements of its niche are fulfilled.

Types of Niche

1. Habitat niche – where it lives
2. Food niche – what is eats or decomposes & what species it competes with
3. Reproductive niche – how and when it reproduces.
4. Physical & chemical niche – temperature, land shape, land slope, humidity & other requirement.

Solution: B

GI tag:

• A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.
• Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

GI Tag products:

• Odisha has bagged the geographical indication (GI) tag for its local version of “Rasagola”.
• This GI tag, numbered 612, is the second for Odisha. It got its first GI tag for Kandhamal Haldi.
• PalaniPanchamirtham from Palani Town in Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu State.
• Tawlhlohpuan and Mizo Puanchei from the state of Mizoram.
• Tirur Betel leaf from Kerala.
• Two products from Tamil Nadu — Dindigul lock and Kandangi Saree — have been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by The Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai.
• The Dindigul locks are known throughout the world for their superior quality and durability, so much so that even the city is called Lock City.
• The Kandangi sarees are manufactured in the entire Karaikudi taluk in Sivaganga district. They are characterised by large contrast borders and some are known to have borders covering as far as two-thirds of the saree which is usually around 5.10 m-5.60 m in length.

Solution: B

An Ecotone describes an area that acts as a transition or boundary between two ecosystems. This could be, for example, an area of marshland between a river and the riverbank, a clearing within a forest or a much larger area such as the transition between Arctic Tundra and Forest biomes in Northern Siberia.

As this area is inevitably influenced by the two bordering ecosystems, it is therefore a consequence of this that a higher density of organisms and variety of species can be found within an Ecotone. This increase in biodiversity is referred to as the “edge effect”.

Solution: D

Child well-being index:

The India child well-being index has been released by the non-government organization World Vision India and research institute IFMR LEAD.

About the index:

• The child well-being index, a tool designed to measure and tracks children’s well-being comprehensively.
• This report provides insights on health, nutrition, education, and sanitation and child protection.
• The dimensions of the index include healthy individual development, positive relationships and protective contexts.
• It is a crucial report that can be mined both by the Government and civil organisations to achieve the goal of child well-being.
• One of the primary objectives of this index is to garner attention to the under-researched theme of child well-being in India, and inspire further academic and policy conversations on related issues.

Key findings of the report:

1. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry topped the charts.
2. Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh featured at the bottom.
3. The data shows that even states that are performing best in overall child well-being, are not doing so well in indicators of health.