Environment & Biodiversity MCQs
Environment, Ecology & Biodiversity Multiple choice questions for GK paper in SSC, NDA, CDS, UPSC, UPPSC and State PSC Examinations.
41. Identify correct type of food chain :
• Dead animal
• Maggots
• Frog
• Snake
[A] Detritus food chain
[B] Grazing food chain
[C] Decomposer food chain
[D] Parasitic food chain
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Detritus food chain]
Notes:
Dead Animal–Maggots–Frog–Snake is an example of detritus food chain. In such a food chain, Primary consumers are ‘detritivores’ including protozoans, bacteria, fungi, etc which feed upon the detritus (dead organic matter such as fallen leaves, plant parts or dead animal bodies) saprophytically. They are in turn eaten by secondary consumers such as insect larvae, nematodes, etc. In nature, detritus food chains are indispensable as the dead organic matter of grazing food chain is acted upon by the detritivores to recycle the inorganic elements into the ecosystem.
42. The five key indicators of global climate change of our planet are ____:
[A] Antarctic Sea ice, Oxygen, Rainfall, Drought and Sea level
[B] Sea-level, Rising temperatures, Rainfall, Nitrogen and Arctic Sea ice
[C] Arctic Sea ice, Carbon dioxide, Global Temperature, Sea level and Land ice
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Arctic Sea ice, Carbon dioxide, Global Temperature, Sea level and Land ice]
Notes:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a series of interactive maps and graphs to describe the global climate and how it has changed over time. They focus on 5 key climate indicators:
• carbon dioxide concentration
• global surface temperature
• Arctic sea ice
• land ice
• sea level
43. Which is used as an Air pollution indicator?
[A] Algae
[B] Fungi
[C] Bacteria
[D] Lichens
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Lichens]
Notes:
Lichens are used as air pollution indicators, especially of the concentration of Sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere. If air is very badly polluted with sulphur dioxide there may be no lichens present, just green algae may be found. If the air is clean, shrubby, hairy and leafy lichens become abundant.
44. The resources which are obtained from bio sphere and have life are ____:
[A] Potential resources
[B] Biotic resources
[C] Abiotic resources
[D] Renewable resources
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Biotic resources]
Notes:
Biotic resources describe living or once living resources of a community; for example organisms, such as plants and animals wood, alkaloids, latex obtained from plant are also biotic resources. They are obtained from the biosphere and have life. The resources which are composed of non-living things are called Abiotic Resources. For example, water, minerals, metals, wind, solar energy etc.
45. Which of the following gas leaked in the Bhopal Gas tragedy in December 1984?
[A] Methyl isocyanate
[B] Methyl isochlorate
[C] Methyl phosphate
[D] Methyl isopropate
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Methyl isocyanate]
Notes:
In the gas tragedy that occurred at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on 2-3 December 1984, over 500,000 people were exposed to toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals. An estimated 10,000 or more people died in human disaster.
46. Montreal Protocol is related to which of the following?
[A] Ozone layer
[B] E-waste
[C] Water pollution
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Ozone layer]
Notes:
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was designed to reduce the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances in order to reduce their abundance in the atmosphere, and thereby protect the earth’s fragile ozone Layer. The original Montreal Protocol was agreed on 16 September 1987 and entered into force on 1 January 1989. In 1995, the United Nations named September 16 the International Day for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, also known as World Ozone Day.
47. Pin valley National park is situated in ______:
[A] Andhra Pradesh
[B] Madhya Pradesh
[C] Himachal Pradesh
[D] Arunachal Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Himachal Pradesh]
Notes:
The glorious Pin Valley National Park is located in the cold desert area of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Predesh and is home to more than 20 species of animals and birds, including the endangered Snow Leopard. Wildly furious but majestic Pin River flows right through it. The park is located in the desert habitat of the Spiti Valley, within the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve, in the Himalayas region.
48. Which National Park in Nepal is a continuation of Indias Valmiki National Park?
[A] Chitwan National Park
[B] Bandipur National Park
[C] Dudhwa National Park
[D] Jim Corbett National Park
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Chitwan National Park]
Notes:
Chitwan National Park in Nepal is contiguous to the Indian Tiger Reserve Valmiki National Park. Adjacent to the east of Chitwan National Park is Parsa National Park. The coherent protected area of 2,075 km2 represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki, which covers an area of 3,549 km2.
49. The State which produces largest number of orchids in India is ______:
[A] Meghalaya
[B] Assam
[C] Sikkim
[D] Arunachal Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Sikkim]
Notes:
Sikkim is the largest producer of orchids in India. The state is home to an amazing 450 species of exotic orchids alone. Annually, around 20 million stalks of orchids are produced in Sikkim. Sikkim, owing to its climatic conditions, has developed as a natural hub of orchids.
50. Thalweg Doctrine, which was in news recently, is related to which of the following?
[A] Outer Space
[B] Water Bodies
[C] Immigration
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Water Bodies]
Notes:Thalweg Doctrine is a part of international law that aims to resolve water boundary disputes. The doctrine states that the boundary between two states divided by a flowing body of water may be drawn along the thalweg, which is the line of the greatest depth of the channel. The boundary would follow the center of the principal navigable channel of the waterway.
The Thalweg Doctrine has been used in several disputes, including:
- The Shatt al-Arab between Iraq and Iran
- The Danube in central Europe (Croatia–Serbia border dispute)
- The Kasikili/Sedudu Island dispute between Namibia and Botswana
- The 2004 dispute settlement under the UN Law of the Sea
The Thalweg Doctrine has also been used in the Sir Creek dispute between India and Pakistan. The dispute is not settled yet due to a lack of trust.