Day-709 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Answer. C
Explanation:
Options 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
Strictly speaking, natural refrigerants are not derived from nature. They are manufactured industrially like any other refrigerant. They are called “natural refrigerants” because they are substances that occur directly in nature. The most commonly used ones are ammonia ( NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrocarbons (propane or isobutane). These substances were used as refrigerants until the 1930s before fluorinated gases (f-gases) became more common in refrigeration systems. Fluorine is a halogen and today we know that these halogenated gases increase the greenhouse effect and lead to ozone layer depletion.
Environmentalists are of the opinion that refrigeration systems with natural refrigerants are predestined to meet the growing global demand for cooling and air-conditioning. Because they are climate-neutral.
The natural refrigerants, such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, propane and isobutane, make no or only a small contribution to global warming (Global Warming Potential, or GWP for short = 0 to about 5.5), compared with the fluorinated refrigerants commonly available on the market.
Option 4 is incorrect: The chemical industry is promoting substances called ‘Hydrofluoroolefins’ or HFOs, as HFC- replacements. Chemically, HFOs are a form of HFCs, but due to the negative connotations that HFCs have acquired, this new class of chemicals is being marketed under a different name.
While HFOs have lower GWPs than the earlier generation of HFCs they continue to pose dangers to the environment. In actuality the GWP of HFO blends are relatively high GWPs compared to the GWPs of natural refrigerants. The GWP of most HFO blends range between 150 to 1800, while the GWP of natural refrigerants are 0 for ammonia, 1 for carbon dioxide, 5 for propane and less than 20 for isobutene.

Answer. D
Explanation:
As the only big cat with a semi-retractable claw—rather than the fully retractable claws that help lions tear flesh and climb trees—cheetahs are the sole member of the genus Acinonyx.
Statement 1 is incorrect: Unlike lions, cheetahs do not live in groups. Female cheetahs live on their own, each with a large home range. Females in areas such as the Serengeti, where the prey is migratory, typically follow the herds. Meanwhile, males are either solitary or form small coalitions with one or two other males, typically their littermates. Some males establish small territories in areas where they are likely to find mates.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The gestation (pregnancy) period for the cheetah is 93 days (maximum 3 months), and litters range in size from one or two up to six cubs.
Statement 3 is correct: Unlike other African predators, cheetahs rarely scavenge. They are also known to eat quickly and abandon their kills once other predators are spotted, especially in areas with high densities of large carnivores—around 10% of cheetah kills end up being stolen, mostly by lions and spotted hyenas. This could explain why cheetahs prefer to hunt during the day when other predators are least active.
They stay hydrated by drinking the blood or urine of their prey.
Statement 4 is correct: Although they typically prefer open grasslands, cheetahs live in a range of habitats across eastern and southern Africa. One subspecies, the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah, can only be found in Iran.

Additional information about cheetah
● IUCN status of Cheetah: Vulnerable
● Cheetahs face threats from hunting and the illegal wildlife trade, where they’re sold for their skins and as pets.
● They also face fierce competition for prey, and their cubs are particularly vulnerable to predation from lions.
● Compounding all these problems, cheetahs have an extremely low level of genetic variation, which is essential for a species to evolve in the face of environmental changes and disease.

Answer. B
Explanation:
Bubble-net feeding is a cooperative hunting strategy that occurs within a group of whales. It is a complex, highly synchronized set of behaviours that involve communication and cooperation, demonstrating signs of high social intelligence.
To bubble-net feed, whales dive deep below schools of fish and use bubbles blown from their blowholes to stun and trap fish closer to the surface. One whale generally leads the effort followed by the rest of the group. The leader will usually be responsible for blowing the bubbles and the other members will surround the fish, following them to the surface by swimming in spiral patterns to keep the fish trapped.
It is a feeding behaviour engaged in by humpback whales and Bryde’s whales.
Humpback whales are known as “gulpers”, which means they feed by leaving their mouths open, swallowing everything in their paths before closing their mouths, pushing water out through their baleen plates and swallowing the critters (usually fish and small crustaceans) they caught. During bubble net feeding, the whales swimming toward the surface will have their mouths open and gulp fish from the school they have corralled.
Note: Humpback whales (examples of baleen whales) are famous for the complex and elaborate songs that they use during mating season.

Answer. A
Explanation:
Biotransformation technology is a novel approach to ensure plastics that escape refuse streams are processed efficiently and broken down.
The tech was co-developed by the Imperial College in London, UK, and a Britain-based startup, Polymateria. Plastics made using this technology are given a pre-programmed time during which the manufactured material looks and feels like conventional plastics without compromising on quality. Once the product expires and is exposed to the external environment, it self-destructs and bio transforms into bioavailable wax. This wax is then consumed by microorganisms, converting waste into water, CO2, and biomass.

Answer. B
Explanation:
Pairs 1 and 4 are correctly matched. Pairs 2 and 3 are incorrectly matched.
Fauna species – Distribution in India – About the species
Lion-tailed macaque – Western Ghats

Endemic to the Western Ghats, roughly distributed from the Kalakad Hills to north of Anshi Ghat in south western India, with its range passing through the three states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
● It is restricted to the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats.
● Unique phenotypic traits: extreme blackness of the fur and the prominent silvery ruff
● Considered the most arboreal among macaques spending 93% of their time in the middle and upper parts of the forest canopy, and less than 1% of their time on the ground
● It is primarily a frugivorous species.
● A female on an average contributes 4-5 offspring during its reproductive active period of 15 years.
Conservation status:
● IUCN status: Endangered
● Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
Golden langur – Northeast India
Assam (Mostly outside protected areas; found in Manas Biosphere Reserve and Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary); in the north of the bank of the Brahmaputra
● Endemic to northeast India and Bhutan, golden langurs are one of the world’s most endangered primates.
● They are mainly leaf eaters.
● Threats: hydropower, road, and housing development causing habitat loss and fragmentation.
Conservation status:
● Appendix I of CITES
● IUCN Status: Endangered
● Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
Pallas’s cat – Ladakh, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh (Western Himalayas)
● Pallas’s cats are primarily found in Central Asia, with their range extending to western Iran, Mongolia, China, Russia (on the border of Mongolia and China), Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
● A small wild cat well camouflaged and adapted to the cold continental climate in its native range.
● They inhabit arid, montane shrublands and grasslands, rocky outcrops, scree slopes, and ravines.
● They are mainly crepuscular but, in some areas, they may also be active during the day.
Conservation status:
● IUCN status: Least Concern (LC)
● Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
Binturong – Northeast India (forests as habitat) A mammal native to south and southeast Asia
● Sometimes called a bearcat because of its appearance, the binturong is actually a member of the Viverridae family, which includes animals such as civets and genets.
● The binturong is native to the tropical rainforests of South and Southeast Asia, where it spends much of the day hidden in the canopy; thus, it has an arboreal and nocturnal lifestyle.
● Diet: omnivores
● Binturongs have been known to eat everything from small mammals, birds, fish, worms, and insects to plant shoots, leaves, and fruit.
● Has a sweet tooth for figs.
● Uniqueness: It possesses a prehensile tail (like a monkey), purrs and cleans itself like a cat and has a territory-marking scent that smells like popcorn.
Conservation status:
● IUCN Status: Vulnerable
● Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
● Threats: habitat loss due to logging and agribusiness, especially the oil palm industry.