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ABHYAS PREP: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY (UPSC AND MPSC) · ECOLOGY

Ecology terms

Ecosystem, food chain, biomagnification, ecotone and other basic terms.

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Worked examples

Example 1 · level 1

Which ecology term means a community of living things interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings?

  1. Ecosystem
  2. Trophic level
  3. Eutrophication
  4. Ecological niche
Show solution
  1. Ecosystem: a community of living things interacting with each other and with their non-living surroundings.
  2. Trophic level: the step an organism occupies in a food chain.
  3. Ecological niche: the role a species plays and the resources and conditions it uses in its habitat.
  4. Eutrophication: nutrient enrichment of a water body that causes algal blooms and loss of oxygen.
  5. Source: https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php

Answer: Ecosystem

Example 2 · level 2

Consider the following statements: 1. In ecology, "Trophic level" means the step an organism occupies in a food chain. 2. In ecology, "Habitat" means the physical place where an organism lives. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show solution
  1. Statement 1 is correct: Trophic level: the step an organism occupies in a food chain.
  2. Statement 2 is correct: Habitat: the physical place where an organism lives.
  3. Source: https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php

Answer: Both 1 and 2

Example 3 · level 3

Consider the following pairs (Term : Meaning): 1. Ecotone : the tendency of a transition zone to hold more species than the ecosystems on either side 2. Trophic level : the rule that only about 10% of energy passes from one trophic level to the next 3. Eutrophication : nutrient enrichment of a water body that causes algal blooms and loss of oxygen How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. Only one pair
  2. Only two pairs
  3. All three pairs
  4. None of the pairs
Show solution
  1. Pair 1 is wrong: Ecotone is not the tendency of a transition zone to hold more species than the ecosystems on either side. Ecotone: a transition zone where two ecosystems meet.
  2. Pair 2 is wrong: Trophic level is not the rule that only about 10% of energy passes from one trophic level to the next. Trophic level: the step an organism occupies in a food chain.
  3. Pair 3 is correct: Eutrophication: nutrient enrichment of a water body that causes algal blooms and loss of oxygen.
  4. So 1 of the 3 pairs is correctly matched.
  5. Source: https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php

Answer: Only one pair

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