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NCERT Exemplar · Class 12 · Biology

Chapter 15: Biodiversity and Conservation

Practice each question, then open the answer or worked solution.

Short Answer Questions

17 questions
Q47Written answer

Humans benefit from the diversity of life. Give two examples.

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Ans: Out of the 13 million generic species envisioned by scientists, approximately 1.75 million species of plants, animals, and microbes have been identified.

The gifts that those species provide contribute to the delicately-stretching herbal cycles that help make the earth habitable for humans, as well as to our way of life in a variety of ways, from supplying our food and prescribed drugs to helping to mitigate the effects of natural disasters such as floods. Biodiversity is strongly linked to environmental production through a mechanism known as beneficial complementarity. There are numerous examples of food and medications that are basic examples of human benefit.


Q48Written answer

List any two major causes other than anthropogenic causes of the loss of biodiversity.

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Ans: Other than anthropogenic causes, alien species invasions and co-extinction are the two major drivers of biodiversity loss.

1. Invasion of alien species: It is given to organisms that have a negative impact on their new surroundings. Invasion species have a negative impact on invaded habitats and bioregions, inflicting ecological, environmental, and/or monetary damage. Local species that overrun human environments and become invasive pests are sometimes assigned to this historical period.

2. Co-extinction: A major factor in the threat of co-extinction is the host specificity and life cycle. Mutualists, parasites, and a variety of free-living bugs with staged life cycles are more prone to face extinction. This is due to the fact that, in contrast to the easy lifestyles of cycled organisms, those organisms may rely on more than one host for the rest of their lives.


Q49Written answer

What is an endangered species? Give an example of an endangered plant and animal species each?

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Ans: The endangered species are the species which are most likely to become extinct in some of the coming years then be it one a globke scale or on within a specific political jurisdiction. Some of the factors that are responsible for the species to be endangered are habitat loss, poaching and the species which are invasive.

Many different organisations verify the popularity of species inside the unique environment, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the worldwide conservation popularity of many species. Many foreign locales have legal standards that protect conservation-dependent species, such as prohibiting hunting, limiting land development, or establishing protected areas. Huge conservation efforts, including captive breeding and habitat restoration, are underway for several endangered species.


Q50Written answer

What are sacred groves and their role in biodiversity conservation?

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Ans: 1. A sacred grove or sacred woods are any wooded areas that may hold special spiritual significance for a particular culture. Sacred groves can be found in a variety of cultures around the world.

2. They were important features of Celtic, Estonian, Baltic, Germanic, historical Greek, Near Eastern, Roman, and Slavic polytheism's mythical landscape and cult practise, and they continue to emerge in countries like India and Japan. The Greco-Roman temenos is an example of a holy grove.


Q51Written answer

Suggest a place where one can go to study coral reefs, mangrove vegetation and estuaries.

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Ans: The ideal places to study coral reefs are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. West Bengal has the best mangrove vegetation, and Karnataka's coast has the best estuaries.


Q52Written answer

Is it true that there is more solar energy available in the tropics? Explain briefly. 

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Ans: As one moves from the equator to the poles, the length of the day shortens and the length of the night lengthens. On the equator, the day and night periods are the same. The Tropics are located close to the equator. As a result, more solar energy will be received. The tropics receive direct sunlight. The day lasts longer in the tropics than it does at higher latitudes due to hetero lighting. As a result, there is a lot of daylight inside the tropics.


Q53Written answer

What is co-extinction? Explain with a suitable example?

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Ans: Co-extinction and co-threatened refer to the phenomenon of the extinction or decline of a group of species resulting in the extinction or endangerment of a separate species that depend on it, with unavoidable cascading effects across trophic levels. The term was coined by the author’s Stork and Lyal was first used to describe the extinction of parasitic bugs as a result of the loss of their specific hosts. Co-extinction is a common occurrence when a keystone species is on the verge of extinction. To uncover probabilistic links between associate and host extinctions in co-advanced inter-unique systems. The pollinating Ficus Wasps and Ficus, primate parasites and their hosts come under the coextinction.