Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

Notes:
Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 2006, divided developmental projects in two categories, i.e., Category A and Category B. Category A’ projects are assessed at national level by the Impact Assessment Agency (IAA) and the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC). Category B projects are assessed at state level.

Notes:
There are two components of Environment Impact Assessment, i.e., Comprehensive EIA and Rapid EIA. Rapid EIA is for speedier appraisal process. Comprehensive EIA collects data fwith respect to all four seasons.

Notes:
Gene banks are established to protect genetic material, be it plant or animal. In plants, genetic material can be saved by freezing cuts from the plant, or stocking the seeds. In animals, genetic material can be saved by freezing of sperm and eggs in zoological freezers until further need.

Notes:
In ecology, the trophic level is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain – what it eats, and what eats it. Ecosystem represents the most complex trophic level. Each species in an ecosystem is affected by the other species in that ecosystem. There are very few single prey-single predator relationships. Most prey are consumed by more than one predator, and most predators have more than one prey. It is also marked by multi trophic interactions that involve more than two trophic levels in a food web.

Notes:
Thermal pollution is defined as the addition of excess of undesirable heat to water thereby making it harmful to man, animal or aquatic life. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. The change in ambient temperature of water decreases oxygen supply and affects ecosystem composition.

Notes:
The world’s first negative emissions plant under the CarbFix Project to turn atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into stone has begun operations in Hellisheidi, Iceland. It is intended to lock away carbon dioxide by reacting it with basaltic rocks.

Notes:
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with other living and nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. The nature of the organisms—the species, functional groups and trophic levels to which they belong—dictates the sorts of actions these individuals are capable of carrying out, and the relative efficiency with which they do so.

Notes:
In any ecosystem, there is conversion of inorganic into organic material with the help of the radiant energy of the sun by the autotrophs; consumption of the autotrophs by heterotrophs; decomposition and mineralisation of the dead matter to release them back for reuse by the autotrophs, these events are repeated over and over again. There is unidirectional movement of energy towards the higher trophic levels and its dissipation and loss as heat to the environment.

Notes:
The Pantanal Conservation Area, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, accounts for 1.3% of the vast Pantanal wetland in Brazil and spans across 187,818 hectares. It provides shelter for more than 650 bird species, 325 fish species, and 80 mammal species, including giant armadillo and jaguar. The area’s unique ecosystem extends from floodplains to the Amolar Mountains, supporting diverse habitats and maintaining regional fish stocks. Moreover, it is an all-important breeding ground for wetland birds and refuge for globally threatened species like the hyacinth macaw. Additionally, it is a Ramsar Wetland and a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve.

Notes:
DDT is classified as a Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) because it does not occur naturally and remains in the environment for extended periods. Its agricultural use was globally banned under the Stockholm Convention in 2004, though limited use for disease vector control is permitted under WHO guidelines.