Solution

ECOLOGY UNIT

NEET-UG - Biology

1.
(d) 100 per hour
Explanation:
Here, we can see that 100 organisms increased in one hour and the growth rate will be 100 paramecium per 50 paramecium per
hour.

2. (a) Commensalism
Explanation:
Commensalism
3.
(c) Verhulst-Pearl logistic growth
Explanation:
Verhulst-Pearl logistic model of growth is more realistic growth model in comparison to exponential model of growth.
Population growing in a habitat having limited resources shows sigmoid curve like growth before reaching to carrying capacity.

4.
(b) Immigrate rate, natality rate, mortality rate

Explanation:
Immigrate rate, natality rate, mortality rate
5.
dN N
(b) dt
= rN − (1 −
K
)

Explanation:
dN N
= rN − (1 − )
dt K

6.
(d) Species
Explanation:
A species is a group of individual organisms that interbreed and produce fertile, viable offspring. According to this definition,
one species is distinguished from another when, in nature, it is not possible for matings between individuals from each species
to produce fertile offspring.

7.
(d) Urn shaped age pyramid
Explanation:
Age pyramids having a declining population is referred to as contracting pyramid or Orion pyramids or Urn pyramids. This
kind of pyramids is formed by the population having a more old aged population than the young age population.

8.
(c) Fungus and alga
Explanation:
Lichen represents an intimate relationship between a fungus and photosynthetic algae.

9.
(d) Commensalism

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 Explanation:
Commensalism is a relationship between two organisms where one receives a benefit or benefits from the other and the other is
not affected by it. In other words, one is benefited and the other is neither benefited nor harmed.
Example:
Orchids - Some orchids grow on trees and that does not harm the tree.
Pilotfish - Pilot fish live around sharks, sea turtles, and rays and eat the parasites that live on them as well as leftover
food they do not eat. Young pilot fish gather around jellyfish and seaweeds.

10.
(d) A zone of transition between two communities
Explanation:
A zone of transition between two biological communities where two communities meet and integrate.

11.
(c) Parasitism
Explanation:
Parasitism

12.
(b) Ramdeo Misra
Explanation:
Ramdeo Misra

13.
(d) Zero
Explanation:
Zero

14. (a) Pug marks and faecal pellets

Explanation:
The tiger census in our national parks and tiger reserves is often based on pug marks and fecal pellets.
15.
(d) Mimicry
Explanation:
Mimicry

16.
(c) Biological control of pest population
Explanation:
The biological control method adopted in agricultural pest control is based on the ability of the predator to regulate the prey
population.

17.
(d) dN

dt
= rN

Explanation:
dN
= rN
dt

18.
(d) Mortality and emigration
Explanation:
Mortality and emigration add individuals to initial density hence increases the population density.

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19.
(b) Extinction
Explanation:
Extinction

20.
(d) 200%
Explanation:
N o. of new paramecium 100
Birth rate= × 100 = 50
× 100 =200%
Initial no. of paramecium

21.
(d) Organotrophs
Explanation:
Organotrophs

22.
(d) Less in diversity
Explanation:
Crop-fields are main man-made ecosystems which are generally monoculture in nature, with less biodiversity but highly
susceptible to ecological and biotic factors.

23.
(b) 10%
Explanation:
According to 10 percent law – only 10 percent of the energy is transferred to each trophic level from the lower trophic level.

24.
(b) gm-2yr-1
Explanation:
Primary productivity expressed as gm-2yr-1

25.
(b) Detritivore
Explanation:
Detritivore

26.
(d) 50%
Explanation:
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is the light wavelength range that is best fit for photosynthesis to occur.
Photosynthesis is a process that requires light energy and optimally occurs in the 400 to 700 nanometer (nm) range 1. This
range is also known as visible light. It is approx. 50% of incident solar radiation.

27.
(c) 10%
Explanation:
10%

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28.
(c) None of these
Explanation:
Plants are the only producers. Thus, they are called primary producers. There are no other producers in a food chain. So the
answer is none of these.

29.
(d) An inverted pyramid of number
Explanation:
Inverted Pyramid of Number is a type of ecological pyramid seen in the parasitic food chain where one primary producer
supports numerous parasites that support more hyperparasites.

30.
(c) tertiary consumer
Explanation:
Green plants occupy the first trophic level(producers). Primary consumers(herbivores) feed on producers. Secondary
consumers(primary carnivores) feed on herbivores. Tertiary consumers(secondary carnivores) feed on secondary consumers.
If the carbon atoms fixed by producers already have passed through three species, the organisms of trophic level of the last
species would be tertiary consumers.

31.
(b) Energy transfer from lower trophic level to higher trophic level.
Explanation:
Energy transfer from lower trophic level to higher trophic level.

32. (a) Grasshopper

Explanation:
Grasshopper
33.
(c) Ecotone
Explanation:
An ecotone is a zone of junction or a transition area between two biomes (diverse ecosystems). It is where two communities
meet and integrate. Ecotone consists of a hybrid of both the biomes in an ecosystem.

34. (a) Herbivores

Explanation:
Herbivores

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35.
(c) Both Mercury and DDT
Explanation:
Both mercury and DDT undergo increase in their amounts from lower to higher trophic levels in the food chains.

36.
(d) Primary consumers
Explanation:
Primary consumers

37. (a) Inverted pyramid of biomass

Explanation:
Inverted pyramid of biomass
38.
(b) Tropical rain forests
Explanation:
Tropical rain forests

39.
(c) Biomass of fishes exceeds that of phytoplankton.
Explanation:
The pyramid of biomass in sea is also generally inverted because the biomass of fishes far exceeds that of phytoplankton.

40.
(c) Interchange between producers and consumers
Explanation:
Interchange between producers and consumers

41.
(d) Cynodon
Explanation:
Carrot grass (Parthenium), Lantana, and water hyacinth (Eichhornia) caused environmental damage and posed a threat to our
native species by invasive weed species.

42.
(d) All are ex situ conservation methods
Explanation:
All are ex-situ conservation methods and can be used to preserve biodiversity in the laboratory.

43. (a) A species which makes up only a small proportion of the total biomass of a community, yet has a huge impact on the
community organization and survival.
Explanation:
A species which makes up only a small proportion of the total biomass of a community, yet has a huge impact on the
community organization and survival.
44.
(b) Fungi
Explanation:
Fungi exhibit more species diversity. This is followed by algae, bryophytes, and then fens and allies.

45. (a) IUCN

Explanation:

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 IUCN
46. (a) Brazil
Explanation:
Brazil
47. (a) Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas
Explanation:
Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas
48. (a) 359 invertebrates
Explanation:
359 invertebrates
49.
(b) 7
Explanation:
7

50.
(b) Death of fish due to lack of oxygen.
Explanation:
Death of fish due to lack of oxygen.

51. (a) 34
Explanation:
34
52.
(d) Amazon rain forest
Explanation:
The Amazon rain forest (it is so huge that it is called the ‘lungs of the planet’) harbouring probably millions of species is being
cut and cleared for cultivating soya beans or for conversion to grasslands for raising beef cattle.

53. (a) Natural zone, buffer zone and transition zone.

Explanation:
The three zones of biosphere reserves are natural zone, buffer zone, and transition zone. The natural zone is also known as core
zone and transition zone is called as manipulation zone.

54.
(b) Alexander van Humboldt
Explanation:
Alexander Von Humboldt has observed that within a region, species richness gets increased when the explored area is
increased, but only up to a limit.
The relationship between species richness and area for a number of taxa like angiosperms plants, freshwater fishes, and birds is
found to be a rectangular hyperbola.
The equation is described by :
log S = log C + Z log A
S – Species Richness

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 Z – Slope of the line (regression coefficient)
A – Area
C – y-intercept

55.
(b) Amphibians
Explanation:
Amphibians group of animals is more venerable to extinction. About 33% of amphibians are facing the danger of extinction
followed by 23% of mammals and 12% of birds species.

56.
(c) Western Ghats
Explanation:
Western Ghats

57.
(c) 1.8 %
Explanation:
1.8 %

58.
(c) Critically endangered
Explanation:
A critically endangered (CR) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) as facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. It's the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List for
wild species. In India, about 18 animals and 44 plant species are critically endangered.

59.
(b) less variation
Explanation:
Endemic species are plants and animals that exist only in one geographic region. Species can be endemic to large or
small areas of the earth.
Endemic species of an ecological region try to maintain the same genetic makeup. These species are well suited in a
particular habitat and show very little variation in comparison to other species.

60. (a) Tropics

Explanation:
Tropical environments, unlike temperate ones, are less seasonal, relatively more constant and predictable. There is more solar
energy available in the tropics, which contributes to higher productivity. Alpine plants are adapted to the harsh conditions of the
alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, wind, drought, poor nutritional soil, and a
short growing season.
61. (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Predation and parasitism are considered to be negative interactions, because in both of these interactions one species gains and
the other suffers. Predation is the interaction between species involving killing and consumption of prey. The species which
eats the other is called the predator, and the one consumed by other is termed as prey. Predation is commonly illustrated by the
herbivore-carnivore interaction. Parasitism is the interaction in which the species smaller in size (the parasite) lives in or on the
larger species (the host) from which it obtains food and shelter. Parasites like leeches, ticks, lice, mites feed on the body fluids
of the hosts. Parasites, like predators, limit the population of the host species. Parasites are generally host-specific and do not
have choices or alternatives like predators. Parasites are smaller in size and have higher biotic/reproductive potential compared
to predators. Parasites have poor means of dispersal and require specialized structures to reach or invade the host. Predators, on
the other hand, are quite mobile and capable of capturing prey.

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62.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Amensalism is an interaction between two living individuals of different species in which an organism does not allow other
organisms to grow or live near it. Inhibition is achieved through the secretion of chemicals called allochemics.

63.
(c) A is true but R is false.
Explanation:
The place where an organism life is called its habitat. Habitats are characterised by conspicuous physical features, which may
include the dominant forms of plant and animal life. Habitat may also refer to the place occupied by an entire biological
community. For example, a large number of species are found in a forest habitat. On the other hand, the ecological niche of an
organism represents (i) the range of conditions it can tolerate (ii) the resources it utilises, and (iii) its functional role in the
ecological system. A habitat can contain many ecological niches and support a variety of species. Each species has a distinct
niche, and no two species are believed to occupy exactly the same niche.

64.
(c) A is true but R is false.
Explanation:
A is true but R is false.

65. (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Predators also help in maintaining species diversity in a community, by reducing the intensity of competition among competing
prey species. In the rocky intertidal communities of the American Pacific Coast, the starfish Pisaster is an important predator.
In a field experiment, when all the starfish were removed from an enclosed intertidal area, more than 10 species of
invertebrates became extinct within a year, because of Interspecific competition.
66.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Stability of an ecosystem depends upon diversity. Croplands (a type of agro-ecosystem) are mostly monocultures (having one
type of crop) and lack diversity. They are vulnerable to destruction due to drought, floods, diseases, pathogens and pests.

67.
(c) A is true but R is false.
Explanation:
A network of food chains existing together in an ecosystem is known as a food web. This statement is correct. Each and every
living organism is a part of the food web is the correct reason.

68.
(c) A is true but R is false.
Explanation:
Oxygen comes through photosynthesis where water is split up in the process of photolysis. Because of it oxygen content of the
atmosphere has largely remained constant for the last several million of years. In the beginning our planet did not possess freє
oxygen in its atmosphere. It accumulated there when photoautotrophs evolved.

69.
(d) Both A and R are false.
Explanation:

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 Ecological pyramids: (a) Pyramids number in a grassland, (b) Pyramids of biomass in a fallow land, (c) Inverted pyramid of
biomass in a lake, (d) Energy pyramid in a spring; P-Producer, H-Herbivore, C-Carnivore.
Graphical representation of the trophic structure is done by drawing ecological pyramids, where the basal, mid and top tiers
show the parameter values for producers, herbivores and carnivores in the ecosystem. Common parameters used for
constructing ecological pyramids are number of individuals (pyramid of numbers), dry weight (pyramid of biomass), and rate
of energy flow (pyramid of energy) at successive trophic levels. In most ecosystems, the pyramids of number and biomass are
upright i.e., producers outnumber or outweigh the herbivores, and herbivores outnumber or outweigh the carnivores. However,
in certain ecosystems, the pyramid of number (e.g., in tree-dominated ecosystems) and the pyramid of biomass (e.g., in deep
bodies) may look inverted. For example, numerous small insects may occur on a single tree, and in oceans the combined
weight of numerous small short lived phytoplankton organisms at a given time is exceeded by the combined weight of large,
long lived fish. The pyramid of energy, however, is always upright. Amongst the three kinds of ecological pyramids, the
pyramid of energy, which expresses mainly the rate of food production, can be considered most representative of the functional
characteristics. It emphasises that total energy flow at successive trophic level always decreases compared to the preceding
trophic level.

70.
(c) A is true but R is false.
Explanation:
An aquatic ecosystem is fairly a self-sustainable unit because it exhibits productivity, decomposition, energy flow, and nutrient
cycling.

71. (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
72. (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Genetic diversity: A single species might show high diversity at the genetic level over its distributional range. The genetic
variation shown by the medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in different Himalayan ranges might be in terms of the
potency and concentration of the active chemical (reserpine) that the plant produces. India has more than 50,000 genetically
different strains of rice and 1,000 varieties of mango.
73. (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Although India has only 2.4 percent of the world's land area, its share of the global species diversity is an impressive 8.1
percent. That is what makes our country one of the 12 mega diversity countries of the world. Nearly 45,000 species of plants
and twice as many of animals have been recorded from India. Applying this proportion to India's diversity figures, we estimate
that there are probably more than 1,00,000 plant species and more than 3,00,000 animal species yet to be discovered and
described.
74.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:

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 Hotspots are areas with a high density of biodiversity or megadiversity which are also the most threatened ones. Ecologically
hotspots are determined by four factors.
i. A number of species/species diversity.
ii. Degree of endemism
iii. Degree of threat to habitat due to its degradation and fragmentation.
iv. Degree of exploitation.
Myers (1988) initially identified 12 hotspots. Today the number of hotspots identified by ecologists is 36.

75. (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

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