Environment & Ecology – UPSC Prelims PYQs

Which one of following is produced during the formation of photochemical smog?

Which one of the following animals is monogamous?

A World Summit with representation from all the countries will be held in Johannesburg in September 2002 on the subject of

Consider the following ecosystems:

1. Taiga
2. Tropical evergreen
3. Tropical deciduous
4. Tundra The correct sequence in decreasing order of the albedo values of these ecosystems is

The sea coast

of which one of the following states has become famous as a nesting place for the giant Olive Ridley turtles from South America?

Consider the following statements regarding environment issues of India: I. Gulf of Mannar is one of the biosphere reserves. II. The Ganga Action Plan, phase II has been merged with the National River Conservation Plan. III. The National Museum of Natural History at New Delhi imparts nonformal education in environment and conservation. IV. Environmental Information System (ENVIS) acts as a decentralised information network for environmental information.

Which of these statements are correct?

Match List I with List II

and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:

List I (Important Day) I. World Environment Day II. World Forestry Day III. World Habitat Day IV. World Ozone Day

List II (Date) A) March 20 B) June 5 C) September 16 D) October 3 E) December 10

A class of animals known as Marsupials is a characteristic feature of

Match List I (Power generation plant) with List II (Feed material) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:

List I I. M/s Gowthami Solvents Oil Limited, Andhra Pradesh II. M/s KM. Sugar Mills, Uttar Pradesh III. M/s Satia Paper Mills, Punjab IV. M/s Al Kabeer Exports Limited, Andhra Pradesh

List II A) Rice husk B) Slaughter-house waste C) Distillery spent wash D) Black liquor

Codes:

Within biological communities, some species are important in determining the ability of a large number of other species to persist in the community. Such species are called

The minimum land area recommended for forest cover to maintain proper ecological balance in India is

"India has the largest population of the Asian X. Today, there are just about 20,000 to 25,000 X in their natural habitat spreading across the evergreen forests, dry thorn forests, swamps and grasslands. Their prime habitats are, however, the moist deciduous forests. The X population in India ranges from Northwest India where they are found in the forest divisions of Dehradun, Bijnor and Nainital districts of UP to the Western Ghats in the states of Karnataka and Kerala and in Tamil Nadu. In Central India, their population is distributed in southern Bihar and Orissa. In the East, they are seen in North Bengal, Assam and a few other states." The animal 'X' referred to in this quotation is

The first marine sanctuary in India, having within its bounds coral reefs, Mollusca, dolphins, tortoises and various kinds of sea birds, has been established in

Which one of the following legislations does not deal with the protection of environment?

Which one of the following agricultural practices is eco-friendly?

Which one of the following is a useful functional association between fungi and the roots of higher plants?

Indonesian forest fire in 1997 was caused by

According to Meadows (1972), if the present trends in world population, industrialisation, pollution, food production and resource depletion continue unchanged, the “Limits to Growth” on our planet will be reached in the next

Estuaries possess distinct blooms of excessive growth of a pigmented dinoflagellate. These blooms are called

Some people in Manipur live in houses built on floating islands of weeds and decaying vegetation held together by suspended silt. These islands are called

Forest areas have been labelled as 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the rough outline map given. Among these, those which were threatened in 1997 by a serious epidemic include

‘Eco mark’ is given to the Indian products that are

World Environment Conference to discuss global warming was held in 1997 in

The water pollution in river is measured by the dissolved amount of

A tree species in Mauritius failed to reproduce because of the extinction of a fruit-eating bird.

Which one of the following was that bird?

Which one of the following organisms is likely to show the highest concentration of DDT once it has been introduced into the ecosystem?

Which one of the following regions of India is now regarded as an 'ecological hot spot'?

Assertion (A): Mangroves are very specialised forest ecosystems of tropical and subtropical regions bordering certain sea coasts.

Reason (R): They stabilise the shoreline and act as bulwark against encroachments by sea. In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct?

Consider the following programmes:

I. Afforestation and development of wastelands. II. Reforestation and replantation in existing forests. III. Encouraging the wood substitutes and supplying other types of fuel. IV. Promotion of wide use of insecticides and pesticides to restrict the loss of forest area from degradation caused by pests and insects. The National Forest Policy of 1988 includes

Physico-chemical characteristics of water in water sources undergo changes due to

Ecologists have so far found and certified a large number of species in the plant and animal kingdoms. In terms of members, the largest group identified so far is among the

“Monoculture of commercially viable trees is destroying the unique natural profile of ……… Thoughtless exploitation of timber, deforesting vast tracts for palm cultivation, destruction of mangroves, illegal logging by tribals and poaching only compound the problem. Fresh water pockets are fast drying up due to deforestation and destruction of mangroves.” The place referred to in this quotation is

Which one of the following does not belong to biosphere reserves set up so far?

Which one of the following fuels causes minimum environmental pollution?

“The final Agent Orange raid in Vietnam took place in 1970…. areas have begun to bloom again. But 19 years after the war’s end, it seems plain that Agent Orange is killing and maiming human beings, something it never intended to do. The apparent toxic fall-out from those clouds ... is a crop of human miseries including cancers, miscarriages and birth defects — that may persist for decades.” The offensive substance referred to in the above quotation is