Day-600 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | ECONOMY

Answer: C
Explanation:
There are five types of speciation: allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric and artificial.
Allopatric speciation occurs when a species separates into two separate groups which are isolated from one another. A physical barrier, such as a mountain range or a waterway, makes it impossible for them to breed with one another. Each species develops differently based on the demands of their unique habitat or the genetic characteristics of the group that are passed on to offspring.
When small groups of individuals break off from the larger group and form a new species, this is called peripatric speciation. As in allopatric speciation, physical barriers make it impossible for members of the groups to interbreed with one another. The main difference between allopatric speciation and peripatric speciation is that in peripatric speciation, one group is much smaller than the other. Unique characteristics of the smaller groups are passed on to future generations of the group, making those traits more common among that group and distinguishing it from the others.
In parapatric speciation, a species is spread out over a large geographic area. Although it is possible for any member of the species to mate with another member, individuals only mate with those in their own geographic region. Like allopatric and peripatric speciation, different habitats influence the development of different species in parapatric speciation. Instead of being separated by a physical barrier, the species are separated by differences in the same environment.
Parapatric speciation sometimes happens when part of an environment has been polluted. Mining activities leave waste with high amounts of metals like lead and zinc.
These metals are absorbed into the soil, preventing most plants from growing. Some grasses, such as buffalo grass, can tolerate the metals. Buffalo grass, also known as vanilla grass, is native to Europe and Asia, but is now found throughout North and South America, too. Buffalo grass has become a unique species from the grasses that grow in areas not polluted by metals.
Sympatric speciation occurs when there are no physical barriers preventing any members of a species from mating with another, and all members are in close proximity to one another. A new species, perhaps based on a different food source or characteristic, seems to develop spontaneously. The theory is that some individuals become dependent on certain aspects of an environment—such as shelter or food sources—while others do not.
Artificial speciation is the creation of new species by people. This is achieved through lab experiments, where scientists mostly research insects like fruit flies.

Answer: A
Explanation: Both statements are correct. Statement 2 explains statement 1.
The diversity of plants and animals is not uniform throughout the world but shows a rather uneven distribution. In general, species diversity decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles. With very few exceptions, tropics (latitudinal range of 23.5° N to 23.5° S) harbour more species than temperate or polar areas.
Ecologists and evolutionary biologists have proposed various hypotheses; some important ones are:
(a) Speciation is generally a function of time, unlike temperate regions subjected to frequent glaciations in the past, tropical latitudes have remained relatively undisturbed for millions of years and thus, had a long evolutionary time for species diversification.
(b) Tropical environments, unlike temperate ones, are less seasonal, relatively more constant and predictable. Such constant environments promote niche specialisation and lead to a greater species diversity.
(c) There is more solar energy available in the tropics, which contributes to higher productivity; this in turn might contribute indirectly to greater diversity.
Thus, there are three major factors proposed by ecologists to have influenced the richness of species diversity in the areas near equator as compared to the poles.

Answer: C
Explanation:
The Climate Club has been launched at UNFCCC COP28 (at Dubai, UAE in 2023). It is a leading high-ambition intergovernmental forum for exchange on accelerating climate action and industry decarbonisation. The objective of the Climate Club members is to support the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and decisions thereunder.
The Climate Club’s initial focus is on the emission-intensive sectors steel and cement with the aim to scale up lead markets and to make decarbonised industrial production the default business case. While focusing on exchange among governments, the Climate Club will engage relevant stakeholders and experts from academia, think tanks, civil society, and the private sector. It draws on their expertise, and elevates and complements the ongoing work of international organisations and initiatives that relates to its activities.
It has been agreed that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), along with the International Energy Agency (IEA), would host an Interim Secretariat working together with other relevant organisations to ensure progress on working arrangements until further arrangements are decided.
NOTE- India is not a member of the Climate Club, as of now. Chile and Germany are the co-hosts of this club. Currently, it comprises 37 members.

Answer: B
Explanation: Options 1 and 3 are correct.
The Ramsar Convention has specified 9 criteria for identifying Wetlands of International Importance:
Criterion 1: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region.
Criterion 2: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.
Criterion 3: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.
Criterion 4: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.
Criterion 5: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds. (hence, Option 2 is incorrect).
Criterion 6: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.
Criterion 7: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.
Criterion 8: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.
Criterion 9: A wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species.

Answer: D
Explanation:
The savanna food web is a complex ecological network formed by the trophic relationships between savanna plants and animals in different levels of different savanna food chains. One of the food chains in savanna ecosystem can be summarised in ascending order as follows:
Grasses-Bushback- Baboon/lion/leopard-Hyena
• Primary Producers (Trophic level 1): Grasses, Baobab, Acacia trees
• Primary Consumers (Trophic level 2): Bushbuck (African antelope), Grasshopper, Giraffe, Zebra
• Secondary Consumers (Trophic level 3): Baboon, African Wild Dog
• Tertiary Consumers (Trophic level 4): Spotted Hyena, Vultures, lion
As carnivores, hyenas eat zebras, rabbits, warthogs and are also known to be scavengers who feed on carcasses.
Additional information:
About Bushback:
• Widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Habitat: woodlands, forests, savanna
• Diet: herbivore- consumes leaves, shoots, twigs etc.
• Predators: lions, leopard, cheetah; baboons sometimes eat baby bushback
• Characteristics: white patches on neck, vertical stripes or spots on sides, males have horns
About Baboon: Mammals, Primates (Old World Monkey), omnivores, distributed across Africa and Arabia.