Day-741 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Answer: A
Explanation: Option 4 is correct.
● Squirrel monkeys are native to the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, including countries like Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.

● Meerkats live in southern Africa, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. They live in dry, open plains, savannas and grasslands.

● Spider monkey is a large, extremely agile monkey that lives in forests from southern Mexico through Central and South America to Brazil. In spite of its thumbless hands, this lanky potbellied primate can move swiftly through the trees, using its long tail as a fifth limb.

● The red panda is a small arboreal mammal found in the forests of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and the northern mountains of Myanmar and southern China. In India, this elusive species is found in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal. It is the state animal of Sikkim.

Additional information
The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam recently welcomed a fascinating array of new inhabitants who are settling into their new environments. These faunal species include red-necked wallabies, common marmosets, squirrel monkeys, and slender-tailed meerkats and birds such as green winged macaw, scarlet macaw, military macaw and medium sulphur crested cockatoo.
● The red-necked wallaby, native to Australia, is known for its robust build and distinctive reddish fur around the neck.
● Marmosets are known as the smallest of the monkeys, native to South America.

Answer: A
Explanation:
The ‘4 per 1,000’ initiative was launched by the French government at the COP21 Paris climate summit in 2015. It aims to boost carbon storage in agricultural soils by 0.4% each year to help mitigate climate change and increase food security. The Initiative is a genuine multi-stakeholder-Initiative composed of different colleges: Signatory Countries, International & Regional Organizations, Research & Education, Farmers Organizations, NGOs & Civil Society and lastly, Business & Private sector.
The initiative consists of a voluntary action plan under the Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA), backed up by an ambitious research programme.
The Initiative also aims to strengthen existing synergies between the three Rio Conventions – the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – and the Committee for Food Security (CFS), the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Answer: A
Explanation: Both the statements are correct, and statement II explains statement I.
Biological control (or “biocontrol”) is a pest management strategy that can benefit both conventional and organic agriculture. By enhancing the role of natural enemies, the negative impact of a pest on a crop is reduced. Biological control can refer to the augmentation of native natural enemy populations as well as the introduction of non-native natural enemies.
● Parasitoids can develop on or within their host, and parasitoids larvae kill their hosts to complete their life cycle from egg to adult and only need to feed on a single host to reach adulthood. The adult form has a free life. For killing their hosts, the parasitoids are the most effective natural enemies for pest biological control.
● Some parasitoids directly feed on or destroy the reproductive organs of their host, preventing them from producing offspring. By suppressing the host’s immune system, parasitoids can prevent the body from rejecting their presence and may also interfere with reproductive processes.

Answer: D
Explanation: Several birds and animals have been known to use magnetoreception or the special sense to detect Earth’s magnetic field to perceive the location and also track the direction during migration.
Various studies by the scientific community over the years have established that the magnetoreception for navigation is evident in:
● Sea turtles
● Salmon (fish)
● Whales
● European Robins (birds)
● Bats
● Lobsters
● Dogs
● Cats
● Orangutans
● Magnetotactic bacteria

Answer: A
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: As per the Indian standards prescribed by the CPCB (National Ambient Air Quality Standards), the Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) should not exceed 40 µg/m³. However, this is much lax compared to the tighter PM pollution standard prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is 5 µg/m³.
As per the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the standard for PM10 for 24 hours is 100 µg/m³, and for annual average, it is 60 µg/m³.
Statement 2 is incorrect: According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), particulate size 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter (PM 2.5) are responsible for causing the greatest harm to human health. These fine particulates can be inhaled deep into the lungs and can cause breathing and respiratory symptoms, irritation, inflammations and damage to the lungs and premature deaths. PM2.5 describes fine inhalable particles that pose great danger to human health by entering the bloodstream. As a result, they induce oxidative stress.
While PM10 particles can penetrate into lungs, there has been no evidence to establish so far if they can penetrate deep into the bloodstream of human beings.
Statement 3 is correct: There are several ways of removing particulate matter; the most widely used of which is the electrostatic precipitator, which can remove over 99% particulate matter present in the exhaust from a thermal power plant.