QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC , 22 May 2021 – Environment

Solution: a)

Levels of Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is the term popularized by the socio-biologist Edward Wilson to describe the combined diversity at all the levels of biological organisation.

The most important of them are–

(i) Genetic diversity: A single species might show high diversity at the genetic level over its distributional range. The genetic variation shown by the medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in different Himalayan ranges might be in terms of the potency and concentration of the active chemical (reserpine) that the plant produces. India has more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice, and 1,000 varieties of mango.

(ii) Species diversity: The diversity at the species level, for example, the Western Ghats has greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.

(iii) Ecological diversity: At the ecosystem level, India, for instance, with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and alpine meadows has greater ecosystem diversity than a Scandinavian country like Norway.

Solution: b)

Population is a group of organisms usually of the same species, occupying a defined area during a specific time.

Community:

• Communities in most instances are named after the dominant plant form (species).
• In a community the number of species and size of their population vary greatly. A community may have one or several species.
• The environmental factors determine the characteristic of the community as well as the pattern of organization of the members in the community.

Solution: c)

Pyramid of Numbers:

This deals with the relationship between the numbers of primary producers and consumers of different levels. It is a graphic representation of the total number of individuals of different species, belonging to each trophic level in an ecosystem.

A pyramid of numbers does not take into account the fact that the size of organisms being counted in each trophic level can vary.

It is very difficult to count all the organisms, in a pyramid of numbers and so the pyramid of number does not completely define the trophic structure for an ecosystem.

Solution: b)

More than 70 per cent of all the species recorded are animals, while plants (including algae, fungi, bryophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) comprise no more than 22 per cent of the total. Among animals, insects are the most species-rich taxonomic group, making up more than 70 per cent of the total. That means, out of every 10 animals on this planet, 7 are insects.

Solution: d)

Ex situ Conservation– In this approach, threatened animals and plants are taken out from their natural habitat and placed in special setting where they can be protected and given special care. Zoological parks, botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks serve this purpose. There are many animals that have become extinct in the wild but continue to be maintained in zoological parks.

A sacred grove or sacred woods are any grove of trees that are of special religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. Thus, they belong to in-situ conservation efforts. In fact, sacred groves represent the ancient Indian way of in situ conservation of genetic diversity.