Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – March 16, 2018

Statement 1 is correct. A zone of junction between two or more diverse ecosystems. For e.g. the mangrove forests represent an ecotone between marine and terrestrial ecosystem.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Sometimes the number of species and the population density of some of the species is much greater in this zone than either community. This is called edge effect For example the density of birds is greater in the mixed habitat of the ecotone between the forest and the desert.

Both the statements are correct. Bioaccumulation refers to how pollutants enter a food chain; biomagnification refers to the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one trophic level to the next.

Thar Desert region of India is home to some of India’s most magnificent grasslands and sanctuary for a charismatic bird, the

Great Indian Bustard. Among the mammal fauna, the blackbuck, wild ass, chinkara, caracal, Sandgrouse and desert fox inhabit the open plains, grasslands, and saline depressions. The nesting ground of Flamingoes and the only known population of Asiatic wild Ass lies in the remote part of Great Rann, Gujarat.

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.

It is traditional to measure the amount of pollutants in fatty tissues of organisms such as fish.  In mammals, we often test the milk produced by females, since the milk has a lot of fat in it and because the very young are often more susceptible to damage from toxins (poisons).

If a pollutant is not active biologically, it may biomagnify, but we really don’t worry about it much, since it probably won’t cause any problems.

Indian Standard Meridian (82˚30’E meridian) passes through UP, MP, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Statement 1 is correct. In spite of the Aravalli hills, many parts of Rajasthan, Western Rajasthan /Bikaner/Jaisalmer / Jodhpur /Pokaran do not receive much rainfall. This is because the Aravallis lie parallel to the South West monsoon Arabian Sea branch.

For this reason the winds by pass this region and no rain is shed as there are no mountain ranges that lie transversely across. More over this region is also on the leeward side or in the Rain shadow area /region when the South West Monsoon Bay of Bengal branch blows.

Statement 2 is correct. Mumbai, Goa, Panaji, Mangalore, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram receive more rainfall than Pune, Sholapur, Nagpur, Amravathi, Aurangabad. Because Mumbai, Goa, Panaji, Mangalore, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram lie on the Windward side of the Western Ghats while Pune, Sholapur, Nagpur, Amravathi, Aurangabad lie on the Leeward side or in the Rain Shadow region and hence when the South West Monsoon Arabian Sea Branch blows, they receive heavy rain.

Statement 1 is correct. Eastern Himalayas: This part of the Himalayas lies between the Tista River in the west and the Brahmaputra River in the east and stretches for a distance of about 720 km.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Eastern Himalayas are narrower than its northern counterpart. However, the Eastern Himalayas are covered with ‘dense forests.

The northern slopes of the hills in Himalayan region are at high altitude and have low temperature or are snow covered. This does not allow much vegetation. In the southern part of the hills there are plains and valleys watered by rivers and with fertile soil and pleasant temperature levels all required for dense growth of vegetation.