UPSC Prelims Environment & Ecology Basics Quiz

Ecology is the study of the interactions between living organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments.

The environment is defined as 'the sum total of living, non-living components; influences and events, surrounding an organism.'

A population is a group of organisms usually of the same species, occupying a defined area during a specific time.

<p>An organism is an individual living being that has the ability to act or function independently.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Ecology studies the relationship of plants and animals with their physical and biological surroundings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>a) Diatoms-Crustaceans-Herrings</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Community refers to all the populations of different species living and interacting in a particular area or habitat.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>c) 1, 2 and 3</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>b) 2 and 3 only</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>c) 1, 3 and 5 only</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Micro and macro consumers</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Cow; mainly feeds on plants</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Secondary consumers</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Secondary consumers</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Man; consumes both plants and animals</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Dead and decaying organisms</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>To show the relative abundance or biomass of different groups of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem, and the flow of energy and nutrients through the food chain.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The Law of 10% was proposed by Raymond Lindeman. It states that only about 10% of the energy entering one trophic level is available to the next trophic level due to energy losses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Food chains usually have five or fewer links due to the 10% energy transfer efficiency between trophic levels, resulting in significant energy loss.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The main reason for the rapid decrease in energy available in ecological pyramids is the loss of energy in the form of heat and other processes like movement.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Energy losses contribute to a decrease in the amount of energy available at each trophic level due to inefficiencies in energy transfer and utilization.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The Law of 10% explains the limited efficiency by highlighting that only a small fraction of the energy obtained by organisms is converted to biomass, leading to significant energy losses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Cyanobacteria and Diatoms</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Cnidarians and Fungi</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A community of organisms together with the environment in which they live</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A G Tansley in 1935; 'a particular category of physical systems, consisting of organisms and inorganic components in a relatively stable equilibrium, open and of various sizes and kinds'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Initiating the food chain by converting sunlight into energy through photosynthesis</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>By providing mutual support, resources, or protection to each other</p> Signup and view all the answers