The term 'Intended Nationally Determined Contributions' is sometimes seen in the news in the context of
- A.pledges made by the European countries to rehabilitate refugees from the war-affected Middle East
- B.plan of action outlined by the countries of the world to combat climate change
- C.capital contributed by the member countries in the establishment of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- D.plan of action outlined by the countries of the world regarding Sustainable Development Goals
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, plan of action outlined by the countries of the world to combat climate change. INDCs were the climate pledges countries announced before the Paris climate conference of 2015.
Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, each country was asked to state what it intended to do to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change after 2020. These Intended Nationally Determined Contributions were submitted before COP21 in Paris in December 2015. Once a country ratified the Paris Agreement, its INDC became its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), to be updated every five years with greater ambition. India's first INDC was submitted in October 2015.
A is wrong because refugee pledges have nothing to do with this term.
C is wrong because capital subscriptions to the AIIB are not called INDCs.
D is wrong because the Sustainable Development Goals are pursued through the 2030 Agenda, not through INDCs.
Exam tip: INDC before Paris (COP21, 2015) became NDC after ratification, revised every five years.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following statements correctly defines PM1 particles in air ?
- A.These are suspended particles of diameter more than 10 micron
- B.These are the particles that are filtered by the nose during respiration
- C.These are extremely fine particles of diameter less than 1 micron
- D.These are coarse particles that penetrate directly through the lungs into the bloodstream
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, extremely fine particles of diameter less than 1 micron. The number after PM gives the upper size limit of the particles in micrometres.
Particulate matter is classed by aerodynamic diameter: PM10 is 10 micrometres or less, PM2.5 is 2.5 micrometres or less, and PM1 is 1 micrometre or less, about one-seventieth of a human hair's width. The smaller the particle, the deeper it travels: PM1 slips past the nose and throat, reaches the alveoli and can even pass into the blood, which is why it is linked with heart and lung disease. Such fine particles come mostly from vehicle exhaust, burning of fuel and crop residue, and industrial smoke.
A is wrong: particles larger than 10 micrometres are coarse dust, not PM1.
B is wrong: the nose traps mainly larger particles; PM1 is too fine to be filtered there.
D is wrong: PM1 is extremely fine, not coarse, and it is the fine particles, not coarse ones, that reach the bloodstream.
Exam tip: PM10 coarse, PM2.5 fine, PM1 ultra-fine; the smaller the number, the deeper it goes into the body.
Which one of the following statements with regard to greenhouse effect is correct?
- A.It can take place inside a glass chamber where no radiation can pass into it or pass back through it
- B.It can take place inside a glass chamber where long wavelength infrared radiation can pass through into it and short wavelength infrared radiation cannot pass back through it
- C.It can take place inside a glass chamber where short wavelength infrared radiation can pass through into it and long wavelength infrared radiation cannot pass back through it
- D.It can take place inside a glass chamber where all infrared radiation can pass into it or pass back through it
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C: the chamber lets short-wavelength radiation in but does not let long-wavelength infrared out, so heat is trapped.
Sunlight reaching a glasshouse is mostly visible light and short-wavelength (near) infrared, which glass transmits easily. The plants and soil inside absorb it, warm up and re-radiate the energy as long-wavelength infrared, because cooler bodies emit at longer wavelengths. Glass is largely opaque to this long-wave radiation, so the energy stays inside and the temperature rises. In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane and nitrous oxide play the role of the glass, keeping the Earth about 33 °C warmer than it would otherwise be.
A is wrong: if no radiation entered, there would be no energy to trap.
B is wrong: it reverses the wavelengths; long waves are the ones held back.
D is wrong: if all infrared could escape freely, nothing would be trapped and no warming would occur.
Exam tip: in short, out long; glass and greenhouse gases stop the outgoing long-wave infrared.
The part of the fundamental niche that a species actually occupies in the presence of competitors is called its:
- A.Realised niche
- B.Grinnellian niche
- C.Microhabitat
- D.Ecological equivalent
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, the realised niche. G. Evelyn Hutchinson distinguished the fundamental niche, which is the full range of conditions and resources a species could use if nothing interfered, from the realised niche, which is the narrower part left to it once competitors, predators, parasites and disease are at work. The realised niche is therefore always equal to or smaller than the fundamental niche, and it can widen again if a competitor is removed, a phenomenon called competitive release. Option B, the Grinnellian niche, is Joseph Grinnell's version of the concept, built on the physical conditions a species requires, and it is not defined by competition. Option C, a microhabitat, is a small distinct pocket inside a habitat, such as the underside of a log or the soil of a termite mound. Option D, ecological equivalents, are unrelated species that fill similar niches in different regions, such as the kangaroo of Australia and the deer of Asia.
The sea otter of the kelp forests, whose removal lets sea urchins destroy the kelp beds, is a classic example of a:
- A.Flagship species
- B.Keystone species
- C.Indicator species
- D.Invasive species
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, keystone species. A keystone species holds the structure of its community together out of all proportion to its own numbers, exactly as the keystone at the top of an arch holds the stones in place. Sea otters eat sea urchins; when otters were hunted out, urchin numbers exploded, the urchins grazed the kelp down to bare rock, and the fish and invertebrates that sheltered in the kelp disappeared with it. Option A, a flagship species, is a charismatic animal used to win public support and funding, such as the giant panda on the WWF emblem; the role is about publicity, not ecological function. Option C, an indicator species, signals the state of the environment, as lichens signal sulphur dioxide in the air. Option D, an invasive species, is one introduced outside its native range that spreads and harms local species, like water hyacinth. The chain of collapse described in the stem is the mark of a keystone species.
The principle that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist indefinitely is known as:
- A.Allen's rule
- B.The competitive exclusion principle
- C.The edge effect
- D.Liebig's law of the minimum
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, the competitive exclusion principle, also called Gause's principle after G. F. Gause, who demonstrated it with two species of Paramecium grown in the same culture. Where conditions stay constant and the resource is limiting, the better competitor increases while the weaker one dies out or shifts its niche. Species escape this fate by resource partitioning, dividing the resource by space, time or prey size, as in MacArthur's warblers feeding at different heights of one spruce tree. Option A, Allen's rule, says that animals of colder regions have shorter extremities, which is a thermoregulation rule and not about competition. Option C, the edge effect, is the higher density and diversity of species found in an ecotone. Option D, Liebig's law of the minimum, states that growth is limited by the resource in shortest supply. Only option B deals with two species and a shared niche, which is the giveaway in the question stem.