Which of the following is not a biodiversity hotspot extending into India?
- A.The Himalaya
- B.Indo-Burma
- C.The Eastern Ghats
- D.The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, the Eastern Ghats. They are a broken and comparatively dry hill chain and do not meet the twin tests of exceptional endemism and severe threat that define a hotspot.
Option A, the Himalaya, option B, Indo-Burma, which covers the north-east beyond the Himalayan range, and option D, the Western Ghats together with Sri Lanka, are three of the four hotspots that extend into India. The fourth is Sundaland, which covers the Nicobar group of islands. Papers set this question as an odd one out and the usual wrong options are the Eastern Ghats and the Aravallis, both of which sound plausible to a candidate who has learned only that hotspots are hilly. The Western Ghats are the one to remember for endemism, since the lion-tailed macaque and many amphibians live there and nowhere else.
Read the full article: Biodiversity and Its Conservation: Hotspots and Laws
Practice Questions
View allThe concept of biodiversity hotspots was given by which scientist?
- A.Norman Myers
- B.Charles Darwin
- C.Robert Whittaker
- D.Alexander von Humboldt
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A region qualifies when it is exceptionally rich in species found nowhere else and has already lost most of its original vegetation.
Read the full explanation →The Convention on Biological Diversity was signed at which conference?
- A.The Stockholm Conference of 1972
- B.The Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992
- C.The Kyoto Conference of 1997
- D.The Ramsar Conference of 1971
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The Convention has three objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
Read the full explanation →Which was the first biosphere reserve to be set up in India?
- A.Nanda Devi
- B.Nilgiri
- C.Sundarbans
- D.Gulf of Mannar
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It spreads across the meeting point of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka in the Western Ghats and takes in several well known national parks and sanctuaries within its area.
Read the full explanation →A biosphere reserve is divided into which three zones?
- A.Core, buffer and transition
- B.Core, sanctuary and park
- C.Inner, middle and outer
- D.Protected, restricted and open
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The core zone is legally protected and left undisturbed, with no human activity allowed. The buffer zone around it permits research, education and limited use of resources that does not damage the core.
Read the full explanation →The Wildlife (Protection) Act was passed in India in which year?
- A.1962
- B.1972
- C.1980
- D.1986
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The Wildlife (Protection) Act provides the legal basis for declaring national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, lists protected species in its schedules, and prohibits hunting and trade in the species it covers.
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