Day-702 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Answer. D
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Global Carbon Project is a Global Research Project of Future Earth and a research partner of the World Climate Research Programme. It was established in 2001 by a shared partnership between the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and Diversitas. This partnership constituted the Earth Systems Science Partnership (ESSP) which subsequently evolved into Future Earth.
Statement 2 is incorrect: It keeps a track of the emissions of the dominant greenhouse gases such as Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4) and Nitrous oxide (N2O) globally. It publishes these findings in the form of Carbon Budget, Methane Budget and NO2 Budget.
The overwhelming realization that anthropogenic climate change is a reality has focused the attention of the scientific community, policymakers and the general public on the rising atmospheric concentrations of the main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The GCP has approached this challenge by focusing comprehensively on the global biogeochemical cycles which govern these three greenhouse gases, including their natural and human drivers, and opportunities for low carbon pathways.

Answer. D
Statement 1 is incorrect- India has 4 species of bear namely Asiatic Black, Sloth, Sun and Himalayan Brown Bear. Out of these, Sloth bear and Himalayan Brown Bear are endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
● The Asiatic Black Bear Ursus thibetanus, also known as the Moon Bear or White-chested Bear is a medium-sized species of bear, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and limited parts of Japan.
● The Sun Bear Helarctos malayanus is mostly distributed in South-East Asia. In India it occurs in the North-eastern region, though it is not common.
● The Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and occurs in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
● The Himalayan brown bear Ursus arctos isabellinus is found in the Himalayan regions of the Indian subcontinent. Specifically, it inhabits the alpine meadows and sub-alpine scrub zones above the tree line in the Himalayan regions of India and Pakistan. Within India, it can be spotted in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
IUCN status of these bears:
● Himalayan brown bear- Critically Endangered
● Sloth bear- Vulnerable
● Sun bear- Vulnerable
● Asiatic black bear- Vulnerable
Statement 2 is incorrect- The Sloth Bear is myrmecophagous as it feeds exclusively on ants and termites. In general, Indian bears are omnivorous. Their diet comprises fruits, roots, berries, insects, ants, termites and occasionally livestock from nearby villages.
Statement 3 is incorrect- While the Asiatic black bear and Himalayan Brown bear hibernate throughout winter, Sloth bears and Sun bears do not hibernate.

Answer. D
Explanation: The use of low-quality coal and other fuels during the brick firing process is the biggest source of harmful emissions from brick kilns. Brick kiln processes and flue gases are mainly composed of fly ash, sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), which is often toxic and found to be above from the existing World Health Organization (WHO) and National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) guidelines.
Brick kilns are also known to emit Hydrogen Fluoride, Black Carbon, Brown Carbon, and methane.
In Feb 2022, the Union environment ministry had issued a gazette notification that said that the existing brick kilns have one year to ensure they met the emission standards and the new ones would get permission to operate only if they used zigzag technology.

Answer. C
Explanation:
Statement I is correct but statement II is incorrect: Researchers have found that Sargassum tenerrimum (ST), being macroalgae, could be a renewable feed source for biohydrogen recovery. The recovery from this feed source can be improved by pretreatment of Sargassum using saponin-coupled ultrasonic pretreatment (SCUPT).
By preventing the development of inhibitory chemicals and carbohydrate breakdown, pretreatment approaches improve carbohydrate conversion. Pretreatment is still the most important and expensive stage in turning biomass into a biorefinery. However, because there is little lignin in algal biomass, pretreatment is substantially less expensive and simpler.
Biohydrogen is now commercially produced as an advanced biofuel, which makes the use of living biomass or organisms for the production. It is a type of other biofuels like bioethanol, biodiesel, and bio-oil etc. Therefore, a method from which hydrogen is produced biologically (by using microorganisms) in a bioreactor will be termed as biohydrogen.
Bio-H2 offers a good substitute for a carbon–neutral solution because of its higher density, higher energy content, and clean combustion. Photofermentation, dark fermentation, bio-photolysis, and electro-fermentation are biological processes used to produce biohydrogen.
Due to its high organic content, algae in particular (such as sargassum) has been identified as a potential bio-resource for the production of H2. Due to their capacity for self-creation and self-repair, algae have an extra benefit during the synthesis of bio-H2. A variety of enzymes, routes, and activities are used by all of these algal organisms. Enzymes such as hydrogenases or nitrogenases control the synthesis and release of bio-H2 from algae’s hydrogen metabolism.

Answer. D
Explanation: Options 1, 2, 3 and 4 are correct.
Flying squirrels do not fly but are known for their unique ability to glide. This is made possible by the patagium, the skin membrane between the hind limbs and forelimbs. India is home to ten known species of flying squirrels. Thus, flying squirrels can be spotted in the following protected areas of India:
● Nokrek Biosphere Reserve (Giant flying squirrel is found here)
● Anamalai Tiger Reserve (home to Travancore flying squirrel)
● Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve (Indian giant flying squirrel is found here)
● Namdapha National Park (Namdapha flying squirrel and Red giant flying squirrel are found)

The following species of flying squirrels are found in India:
Travancore Flying Squirrel (Petinomys fuscocapillus)
It is one of the small species of flying squirrel found in South India, thought to be extinct from India but again found in Kerala after 100 years of gap.
Namdapha Flying Squirrel
It is nocturnal and endemic to Arunachal Pradesh; Critically endangered due to habitat destruction.
It was discovered in 1981 in the Mesua ferrea jungles bordering the Noa Dihing river in Arunachal Pradesh — an area which now falls under the Namdapha National Park, today the third-largest national park in India. It shares the habitat with the red giant flying squirrel in Arunachal Pradesh.
Red Giant Flying Squirrel
It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scattered trees in Southeast Asia, ranging north to the Himalayas and southern and central China.
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel
It prefers tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests, evergreen forests (usually at higher altitudes) as habitat.
Also known as large brown flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel, it is listed as ‘least concern’ by the IUCN in its Red List.
Among the four global giant squirrels, three are found in India – the Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica), the black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor) and the grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura).
Of these, only the Indian Giant Squirrel (or the Malabar giant squirrel) is endemic to India. It can be found across the Western Ghats, parts of the Eastern Ghats and the Satpura ranges.
It is also the state animal of Maharashtra, where it is called shekru in Marathi. An arboreal mammal, the Indian giant squirrel is notoriously hard to spot.
Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel
It is found in high altitude mountains, ranging from India to Southeast Asia.
Woolly Flying Squirrel
It is an endangered species of squirrel, listed among the longest members of the Sciuridae family. The biggest gliding animal thought to be extinct but again found in Kashmir and Sikkim.
Kashmir Flying Squirrel (Eoglaucomys fimbriatus)
It is a small species that is only restricted to Kashmir in India and threatened by habitat loss. The Afghan flying squirrel is considered a subspecies of Kashmir flying squirrel.
Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel
It is one of the largest flying squirrels, lives in Himalayan forest of India and is restricted to a narrow range within Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal.
Particolored Flying Squirrel
It is found in tropical dry forests of Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal and Cambodia.
Mishmi Giant Flying Squirrel
It is found high in the Himalayan altitude forest, at the tip of the Mishmi Hills of Arunachal Pradesh in India.
They are known to nest in tree cavities. Ground and tree squirrels are diurnal while flying squirrels are nocturnal. While the ground squirrels are largely grazers, many of the diurnal arboreal squirrels are seed predators, also consuming shoots, bark and leaves, and some are more insectivorous. Most of the nocturnal flying squirrels are believed to be more folivorous than diurnal arboreal squirrels, though the degree of folivory varies.