Biodiversity and Loss of Biodiversity

Question 1

Species Richness

Answer 1

Measures the number of species found in a community

Question 2

Species Evenness

Answer 2

measure of the relative abundance of the different species making up the richness of an area

Question 3

Alpha, Beta & Gamma diversity

Answer 3

• Alpha Diversity: It refers to the diversity within a particular area or ecosystem and is usually expressed by the number of species (i.e., species richness) in that ecosystem.
• Beta Diversity: It compares diversity (change in the number of species) between ecosystems.
• Gamma Diversity: It measures the overall diversity of the different ecosystems within a region.

Question 4

Keystone species

Answer 4

Species whose addition or loss to an ecosystem cause major changes in at least one other species. Eg: Top level predators

Question 5

________________ species help determining presence of many other species in that ecosystem

Answer 5

Keystone

Question 6

Indicator/Sentinel Species

Answer 6

Presence/Absence indicates environmental conditions. Act as early warning signal
Eg: Frogs, Lichens, Salmon

Question 7

Endemic Species

Answer 7

Native to single specific geographic location. Also called precinctive species

Question 8

Egs of invasive alien species

Answer 8

Lantana, Fall army worm, Eucalyptus, Wattle, Common water hyacinth, Prosopis Juliflora

Question 9

Flagship species

Answer 9

Species chosen to represent an environmental cause. Species chosen for their vulnerability, attractiveness or distinctiveness

Question 10

Bioprospecting

Answer 10

Bioprospecting refers to exploring biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic resources and biochemicals

Question 11

Biopiracy

Answer 11

Biopiracy occurs when genetic resources and traditional knowledge is taken from biodiverse developing countries without permission. In biopiracy, the stolen traditional knowledge is used to benefit the non-indigenous people through a product or patent with no compensation received by the indigenous people

Question 12

The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) of the ____________ has identified a total of _________ mega-diverse countries

Answer 12

UNEP, 17

Question 13

The five biomes of India are:

Answer 13

1. Tropical Humid Forests
2. Tropical Deciduous Forests (Monsoon Forests)
3. Warm deserts and semi-deserts
4. Coniferous forests
5. Alpine meadows

Question 14

According to CI, to qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet what criteria?

Answer 14

1. It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5% of the world’s total) as endemics
   2.It must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.

Question 15

Who prepared the UN-sponsored Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2019 report?

Answer 15

IPBES

Question 16

IPBES HQ?

Answer 16

Bonn, Germany

Question 17

Living Planet Report is a biennial report released by?

Answer 17

WWF

Question 18

Highest decline in Wildlife population acc to Living Planet report?

Answer 18

Carribean and Latin America

Question 19

State of world’s birds published by?

Answer 19

Birdlife international

Question 20

The Evil Quartet in biodiversity loss

Answer 20

Habitat loss, Overexploitation, Alien species and Secondary extinction

Question 21

Invasive Alien Species in Shola forests?

Answer 21

Invasive species like eucalyptus, tea plantations, wattle (acacia), Lantana, and naturalized alien species like Parthenium hysterophorus in the Nilgiris are wiping out Shola forests.