Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – February 16, 2018

Hunting and deforestation are the direct ways of biodiversity depletion.

The threat to survival or loss may be caused in the following three ways:

• Direct ways: Deforestation, hunting, poaching, commercial exploitation.
• Indirect ways: Loss or modification of the natural habitats, introduction of exotic species, pollution, etc.
• Natural causes – Climate change.

Among these causes, habitat destruction and over-exploitation are the main.

Statement 1 is correct. Biofertilizers, more commonly known as microbial inoculants, are artificially multiplied cultures of certain soil organisms that can improve soil fertility and crop productivity

Statement 2 is correct. It is one of the advantages of Biofertilizers as they do not contaminate soil and the seeds of crops. Thus, it helps in better survival on seeds and soil.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Biofertilizers have a longer shelf life that is for 12-24 months.

The main levels of organisation of ecology are six. In ascending order, they follow as: Individual, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biome and Biosphere.

Biotic potential is the ability of a population of living species to increase under ideal environmental conditions – sufficient food supply, no predators, and a lack of disease. An organism’s rate of reproduction and the size of each litter are the primary determining factors for biotic potential

Symbionts and Decomposers are Biotic components of an ecosystem.

Abiotic components are the inorganic and non-living parts which act as major limiting factors.

Components of Environment

Both the statements are incorrect.

The UNFCCC is a “Rio Convention”, one of three adopted at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. Its sister Rio Conventions are the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification.

This treaty is not legally binding as it does not set mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and doesn’t contain any enforcement mechanisms.

The ultimate objective of the Convention is to “stabilize and (not eliminate )greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.”

This treaty states that that “such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.” 

Pairs 1 and 2 are correct.

Manas sanctuary and National Park (Assam) is famous for Wild buffaloes.

Dachigam sanctuary (Jammu and Kashmir) is famous for Kashmir stags, Himalayan tahr, wild goats, sheep, antelopes.