Biodiversity and Conservation Test - 13

A. Correct option: B 
B. Explanation for correct option:

• The Western Ghats is one of the hottest biodiversity spots.
• It occurs along the western coast of India in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• There is a high degree of species richness and endemism of flowering, non-flowering plants, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds, fishes species.
• Many of the species are undiscovered and many of them threaten species that occur in the Western Ghats.
  
  

C. Explanation for incorrect option:

Option A: The large-scale planting of Bt cotton can influence the natural crop. It can also increase the risk of new insect varieties.
Option C: Developing countries are also involved in  biodiversity conservation e.g. India
Option D: Different animals are found in these desert areas but very few of them are rare animals.

Ex situ plant conservation means 'off-site conservation'. It is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant outside its natural habitat.
The best method of maximizing a species chance of survival is by relocating part of the population to a less threatened location.
Field gene banks are place where the plant genetic resources are kept as live plants that undergo continuous growth and require maintenance and is a good option for conservation.
Seed banks stores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed or getting endangered.
Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned and allowed to revert to their natural vegetation while the cultivator moves to another plot, which results in deforestation and not conservation
Thus, the correct answer is option (C), 'Shifting cultivation'.

Keoladeo Ghana National Park formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India is a famous avifauna sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season. Over 230 species of birds are known to be resident here.

Conservation is the protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and natural resources such as forests and water. Through the conservation of biodiversity the survival of many species and habitats which are threatened due to human activities can be ensured.
In-situ conservation, the conservation of species in their natural habitats, is considered the most appropriate way of conserving biodiversity. Conserving the areas where populations of species exist naturally is an underlying condition for the conservation of biodiversity, e.g., National park
Ex-situ conservation is the preservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats.  This involves conservation of genetic resources, as well as wild and cultivated or species, and draws on a diverse body of techniques and facilities, e.g., Botanical garden.

Least genetic diversity is a characteristic feature of cropland  ecosystem.

• Parthenium hysterophorus is a common invasive weed and causes damage to the wheat crop. Its infection causes dermatitis and respiratory disorders in humans and dermatitis in cattle. 
• Stratification is the key to the ecosystem and termed to the arrangement of flora and fauna in vertical layers. 
• Parenchyma with large intercellular spaces filled with air is termed as aerenchyma which serves to maintain the buoyancy of aquatic plants in aquatic medium and allow them to float. Opuntia is a xerophyte plant. 
• The age pyramid represents the distribution of organisms of a population in different age groups. 
• Hence, parthenium hysterophorus - a threat to biodiversity is correctly matched.