Shankar IAS Test: Biodiversity - Free MCQ with solutions for UPSC Environment

• The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body established by States to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development.
• It was established in Panama City, on 21 April 2012 by 94 Governments. It is not a United Nations body. However, at the request of the IPBES Plenary and with the authorization of the UNEP Governing Council in 2013, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides secretariat services to IPBES. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The governing body of IPBES is made up of the representatives of IPBES member states and usually meets once per year.
• IPBES currently has close to 140 member States. A large number of NGOs, organizations, conventions and civil society groupings also participate in the formal IPBES process as observers.
• The work of IPBES can be broadly grouped into four complementary areas:
  • Assessments: On specific themes (e.g. “Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production”); methodological issues (e.g. “Scenarios and Modelling); and at both the regional and global levels (e.g. “Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services”).
  • Policy Support: Identifying policy-relevant tools and methodologies, facilitating their use, and catalyzing their further development.
  • Building Capacity & Knowledge: Identifying and meeting the priority capacity, knowledge and data needs of our member States, experts and stakeholders.
  • Communications & Outreach: Ensuring the widest reach and impact of our work.
• IPBES is funded through generous voluntary contributions from its member States to the IPBES Trust Fund.
• India is a member of this organization. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) was a study led by Pavan Sukhdev from 2007 to 2011. It is an international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity. Its objective is to highlight the growing cost of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions.
  • In 2011, UNEP hosted the TEEB office at the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva, Switzerland and set up an office to manage day-to-day operations and communications activities.
  • Hence statement 2 is not correct.

• Fungi possess the biochemical and ecological capacity to degrade environmental organic chemicals and to decrease the risk associated with metals, metalloids and radionuclides, either by chemical modification or by influencing chemical bioavailability. This is called Mycoremediation.
• Fungi have been shown to play a significant role in the bioremediation of a variety of pollutants such as POPs, textile dyes, petroleum hydrocarbons, pulp and paper industry effluents, leather tanning effluents.
  • Filamentous fungi like Aspergillus, Curvularia, Acrimonium, Pithium, have been studied for their metal tolerance ability.
  • Pleurotus species have high biosorption potential due to their extensive biomass, i.e. mycelial production. The genus has been reported to accumulate high levels of heavy metals. White-rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus has been reported to degrade model Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in solid-state fermentation (SSF) during growth on agro-industrial wastes, such as orange peels.
  • Trichoderma viride is used to degrade nitrogenous explosives, such as TNT (Trinitrotoluene). Trichoderma species also showed potential in bioremediation of hydrocarbons.
  • Some other fungi that have shown bioremediation potential are Doratomyces nanus, Myceliophthora thermophila, Mortierella, Exophiala xenobiotic, Rhizopus oryzae, Pleurotus eryngii, Phanerochaete chrysosporium etc.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

• According to the IUCN (2004), the total number of plant and animal species described so far is slightly more than 1.5 million, but we have no clear idea of how many species are yet to be discovered and described.
• More than 70 percent of all the species recorded are animals, while plants (including algae, fungi, bryophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) comprise no more than 22 percent of the total. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• Among animals, insects are the most species-rich taxonomic group, making up more than 70 percent of the total. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• That means, out of every 10 animals on this planet, 7 are insects.
• The number of fungi species in the world is more than the combined total of the species of fishes, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Hence statement 3 is correct.
  • Fungi include any of about 144,000 known species of organisms of the kingdom Fungi, which includes the yeasts, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms.

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, is an environmental treaty of the United Nations that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial, aquatic, and avian migratory animals and their habitats. As the only global convention specializing in the conservation of migratory species, their habitats, and migration routes, CMS complements and cooperates with a number of other international organizations, NGOs, and partners in the media as well as in the corporate sector. So, Statement 1 is correct.

The flyway concept is an important tool for galvanizing international conservation action. Typically, migration follows a north–south axis, with birds moving to milder climes at lower latitudes for the duration of their non-breeding season (Newton 2008). The energy costs associated with migration mean that birds are under pressure to use the shortest possible route; however, the precise course taken will depend on weather patterns, en-route resources, and the geographical features they encounter. Thus, routes often follow mountain ranges, watercourses and coastlines, avoid large bodies of open water and take advantage of prevailing wind patterns and updrafts. So, Statement 2 is not correct.

A flyway is a geographical region within which a single or a group of migratory species completes its annual cycle: breeding, moulting, staging, and non-breeding. There are eight flyways in the world. Three of the eight flyways pass through the Indian Subcontinent. The Central Asian Flyway (CAF), East Asian Australasian Flyway, and Asian East African Flyway are the three flyways that pass through India. So, Statement 3 is correct. The East Asia/Australasia Flyway extends from Arctic Russia and North America to the southern limits of Australia and New Zealand. It encompasses large parts of East Asia, all of Southeast Asia, and includes eastern India, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

So, Statement 4 is not correct. 

IUCN Green Status of Species

• The decline of many species towards extinction has largely focused conservation efforts on ensuring that species remain extant.
• However, conservationists have long recognised the need to complement this by aiming to recover depleted populations throughout a species range and to restore species to ecosystems from which they have been extirpated
• The main objectives of the IUCN Green Status of Species are: to provide a standardised framework for measuring species recovery; to recognise conservation achievements; to highlight species whose current conservation status is dependent on continued conservation actions; to forecast the expected conservation impact of planned conservation action; and to elevate levels of ambition for long-term species recovery.
• These objectives together encourage conservation towards species recovery. throughout a species' range.