Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Target Prelims 2021 - Environment Ecology Based Current Affairs - 02
Target Prelims 2021 - Environment Ecology Based Current Affairs - 02
Target Prelims 2021 - Environment Ecology Based Current Affairs - 02
Bathynomus raksasa
Q2. The term ‘Gynandromorphism’ was recently in the news. Which among the
following best describes the concept of Gynandromorphism?
a) It is characteristic of an organism that has both male and female tissues.
b) It is the mechanism through which an organism enters into hibernation.
c) It is a process in which an organism uses another organism’s body as a host to lay
eggs.
d) It is the form of adaptation mechanism by certain organisms in response to climate
change.
Q3. Term Dickinsonia, recently seen in the news, is related to which of the following?
a) It is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans that ranged across Asia
during the Middle Paleolithic.
b) The oldest species of dinosaurs recently found in South America.
c) It is an extinct genus of basal animals that lived during the late Ediacaran period.
d) Newly discovered invasive species of plant.
Dickinsonia
Palaeobiologists believe that these earliest living creatures were used to live in shallow
warm seas, as early as 570 million years ago, and are representative of earliest complex
life form in animal kingdom
Species
Species such as Asian Wild Buffalo, Asiatic Lion, Brow Antlered or Sangai Deer,
Dugong, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Gangetic River Dolphin, Great Indian Bustard, Hangul,
Indian Rhino, Jerdon’s Courser, Malabar Civet, Marine turtles, Nicobar Megapode,
Nilgiri Tahr, Snow Leopard, Northern River Terrapin, Swamp Deer, Vultures had been
included in the programme.
Caracal
Wetlands & Ramsar Sites
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface
of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the
growing season.
Ramsar Convention
Q6. With respect to the recently declared Ramsar wetland sites, consider the following
statements:
1. The total number of Ramsar Wetlands in India has gone up to 45.
2. Chandertal became the first Ramsar wetland site in Maharashtra.
3. Uttar Pradesh has the most number of Ramsar Sites in India.
Which of the above given statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Q7. With reference to the Tso Kar wetland complex, which of the following statements
is/are incorrect?
1. It is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per BirdLife International and a
key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.
2. It consists of Startsapuk Tso and Tso Kar lakes.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. Gharials are found in Girwa and Gandak rivers.
2. Salt-water crocodiles are found only in Andaman and Nicobar islands.
3. Mugger crocodiles are not found in coastal saltwater lagoons of Kerala.
Q9. India’s only Golden Tiger is found in which the following Protected Areas:-
a) Kaziranga National Park
b) Panna Tiger reserve
c) Jim Corbett National Park
d) Sathyamangalam Tiger reserve
Q10. With reference to Brahma Kamal flower, consider the following statements:
1. It is known as the King of Himalayan Flowers.
2. It is the state flower of Uttarakhand.
3. It blooms just once a year.
Which of the above-given statements is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Q11. ‘Ooceraea joshii’ which was recently in the news, is related to which of the
following?
a) It is a new species of ant.
b) It is a newly discovered medicinal plant species.
c) It is a non-venomous snake species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
d) It is a type of subterranean fish found in the caves of Meghalaya.
Indicator Species
Examples include crayfish as indicators of freshwater quality; corals as indicators of
marine processes such as siltation, seawater rise and sea temperature fluctuation;
peregrine falcons as an indicator of pesticide loads and lichens can be used as air
pollution indicators, especially of the concentration of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere.
Keystone species
Flagship Species
Q15. Recently, the Chilika Development Authority has designated which of the following
species as ambassador of Chilika Lake?
a) Fishing Cat
b) Olive Ridley Turtle
c) Gharial
d) Irrawaddy dolphin
Fishing Cat
They are nocturnal animals which prey on fish, frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds and
scavenges on carcasses of larger animals. Their main habitats are Wetlands and hence
they are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, around Chilika Lake,
foothills of the Himalayas along Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western
Ghats.
Q16. Consider the following statements about Whale Sharks, recently in the news:
1. They feed only on tiny planktons.
2. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
3. It is found in all tropical oceans of the world.
Which of the given above statements are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Q17. With reference to the ‘Sea buckthorn’, which was recently in the news, consider the
following statements:
1. It is a shrub found in the cold desert of India.
2. It helps in prevention of soil erosion.
3. Its fruits are rich in vitamins and omega fatty acids.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
1. Aestivation Snail
2. Hibernation Bat
3. Diapause Insect
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Protected Areas
Q19. With reference to the Asia Protected Areas Partnership - APAP, which of the
following statements is/are correct?
1. India will be the co-chair of the Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) for the
period of the next 3 years till November 2023.
2. It was launched by the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP).
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
It is a National Park of the North East Indian region that has also been declared as the
‘Important Bird Area’. It is bordered by the Brahmaputra and Lohit rivers in the North
and Dibru River in the south. In 1997, it was also declared as a Biosphere Reserve.
Recently, the concerned State Government has set a deadline for its Forest Department to
rehabilitate the indigenous forest dwellers back to this protected area.
Q20. Which of the following protected areas is described in the above passage?
a) Kaziranga National Park
b) Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
c) Nameri National Park
d) Orang National Park
Haemorrhagic Septicaemia
Q24. Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary, which was recently in the news, is located in which of
the following states?
a) Uttarakhand
b) Himachal Pradesh
c) Uttar Pradesh
d) Sikkim
The Nargu wildlife sanctuary is spread across 132 square kilometres in Mandi and Kullu
districts.
It harbours animals such as leopards, barking deer, black bear, ghoral, jackal and flying
squirrel and birds such as Himalayan monal, white crested kalij and chukor.
Biodiversity Hotspots
Project Lion
Project Lion that was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the lines of
Project Tiger and Project Elephant. Six new sites apart from the Kuno-Palpur Wildlife
Sanctuary have been identified under this for relocation.
The six new sites identified for possible lion relocation in the future include:
• Madhav National Park, Madhya Pradesh
• Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan
• Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan
• Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
• Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan
• Jessore-Balaram Ambaji WLS and adjoining landscape, Gujarat
Q27. With reference to Project Lion, which of the following statements is/are
incorrect?
1. It is a project to reintroduce African lion species in India.
2. Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan is one of the sites that have been chosen
for the lion relocation project.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
The Maldhari community is a tribe of herdsmen in a border state of India. They derive
their name Maldhari which means the owner of goods/wealth. In this case, cattle are their
goods/wealth. They have lived in a National Park, in the Banni Grasslands Reserve area
which emerged from the sea as a result of tectonic activities. There are continued attacks
by endangered carnivorous species on their cattle but still they manage to live in harmony
with that species.
Q28. The community mentioned in the above passage resides in which of the following
National Parks?
a) Jim Corbett National Park
b) Dudhwa National Park
c) Gir National Park
d) Keoladeo National Park
Snow Leopard
Q31. In the context of India’s first Snow leopard conservation centre, consider the
following statements:
1. It is being established in Uttarakhand under the SECURE Himalaya project.
2. It is built in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
3. The snow leopard is listed as “endangered” by the IUCN red list.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3