Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1.
INTRODUCTION
There are more than ____ species of ants, ____ species of beetles,
_____ species of fishes and nearly ____ species of orchids on earth.
20,000; 3,00,000; 28,000, 20,000
2.
BIODIVERSITY
In our biosphere, immense diversity (or heterogeneity) exists not
only at the species level but al all levels of biological organisation
ranging from ____ within cells to ____.
macromolecules, biomes
3.
4.
5.
(ii)
plant produces.
Rauwolfia vomitoria, potency, concentration reserpine
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12.
More than ____% of all the species recorded are animals while
plants (including algae, fungi, bryophytes, gymnosperms and
angiosperms) comprise no more than ____% of the total.
70, 22
13.
14.
The number of ____ species in the world is more than the combined
total of the species of fishes, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
fungi
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17.
India has only 2.4% of the worlds land area. But, its share in the
global species diversity is ____%. This makes India one of the 12
mega diversity countries of the world.
8.1
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20.
PATTERNS OF DIVERSITY
(1) LATITUDINAL GRADIENTS
Many groups of animals or plants show a ____ _____ in the
distribution patterns of diversity. In general, species diversity ____
(decreases/increases) as we move from the equator to the poles.
latitudinal gradient, decreases
21.
With very few exceptions, the tropics harbour more species than
the temperate or polar areas.
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(iii)
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(ii)
(natural or man-made).
(iii) It must also be resistant to invasion by ____ species.
productivity, disturbances, alien
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35.
LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
The colonisation of tropical Pacific Islands by humans is said to
have led to the extinction of more than ____ species of native birds.
2000
36.
The IUCN Red List (2004) documents the extinction of ____ species
in the last 500 years. These include ____ vertebrates, ____
invertebrates and ____ plants.
38.
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41.
Name the three species of tiger that has become extinct recently.
Bali, Japan, Caspian
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Data shows that extinctions across taxa are not random. Some
groups like ____ appear to be more vulnerable to extinction.
amphibians
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During the long period (> 3 billion years) since the origin and
10
48.
(iii)
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(ii)
Over exploitation
(iii)
(iv)
Co-extinctions
11
The most dramatic examples of habitat loss come from ____ ____
forests. Once covering more than ____% of the earths land
surface, they now cover no more than ____%.
tropical rain, 14, 6
53.
The ____ rain forests are called the lungs of the planet. These
forests are being cleared for cultivating ____ ____ or for conversion
to ____ for raising beef cattle.
Amazon, soybeans, grasslands
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OVER-EXPLOITATION
Many species have become extinct in the last five years due to overexploitation by humans. Examples are ____ ____ ____ and ____
____.
Stellars sea cow, passenger pigeon
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12
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The ____ _____ introduced into Lake Victoria in east Africa led
eventually to the extinction of an ecologically unique assemblage of
more than 200 species of ____ fish in the lake.
Nile perch, cichlid
60.
Some invasive weed species of plant that are a threat to our native
species are ____ ____, ____ and ____ _____.
carrot grass (Parthenium), Lantana, water hyacinth (Eicchornia)
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62.
CO-EXITINCTIONS
When a plant becomes extinct, the plant and animal species
associated with it in an ____ way also become extinct.
obligatory
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65.
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Arguments for conservation of biodiversity can be broadly grouped
13
Explain
the
narrowly
utilitarian concept
for
conserving
biodiversity.
(i)
Humans derive countless direct economic benefits from nature
food, medicines, industrial products, etc.
(ii)
67.
What is bioprospecting?
Bioprospecting includes exploring molecular genetic and species-level
diversity for products of economic importance.
68.
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70.
Explain
the
broadly
utilitarian
concept
for
conserving
biodiversity.
(i)
Biodiversity plays a major role in many ecosystem services that
nature provides.
(ii)
(iii)
71.
The
Amazon
forest
is
estimated
to
produce,
through
14
(iii)
We have a moral duty of care for their well-being and pass on our
biological legacy in good order to future generations.
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IN SITU CONSERVATION
What is the difficulty with in situ conservation?
(i)
Faced with the conflict between development and conservation,
many nations find it unrealistic and economically not feasible to
conserve all their biological wealth.
(ii)
76.
15
These areas have very high levels of species richness and high
degree of endemism.
(iii)
77.
What is endemism?
Endemism means that species confined to a region are not found
anywhere else.
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(ii)
Indo Burma
(iii)
Himalayas
All the biodiversity hotspots put together cover less than ____% fo
the earths land area, the number of species they collectively
harbour is extremely high. Strict protection of these hotspots could
reduce the ongoing mass extinctions by almost ____%.
2, 30
81.
82.
India now has ____ biosphere reserves, ____ national parks and
16
84.
In _____, the sacred groves are the last refuges for a large number
of rare and threatened plants.
Meghalaya
85.
EX SITU CONSERVATION
In the ex situ conservation approach, threatened animals and plants
are taken out from their natural habitats and placed in special
settings where they can be protected and given special care. ____
parks, ____ gardens and wildlife ____ parks serve this purpose.
Zoological, botanical, safari
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