Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

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• Button Island National Park: Button Island National Park is located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. The park is situated on the Button Islands, a group of small islands in the Bay of Bengal. It’s a haven for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts, offering opportunities for trekking, snorkeling, and exploring the underwater world.
• Mount Harriet National Park: Situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mount Harriet National Park is named after the second highest peak in the Andaman archipelago.
• Mouling National Park: Mouling National Park is located in Arunachal Pradesh. This park is renowned for its lush forests, diverse flora and fauna, and the scenic beauty of the Mouling mountain range. It’s a significant habitat for various species of primates, birds, and mammals, including the endangered Mishmi takin.
• Wandoor Marine National Park: Wandoor Marine National Park is situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is famous for its stunning coral reefs and diverse marine life.

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The Melkote Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (MTWS) is located in Mandya district of Karnataka and is spread over 45.82 square kilometres. This sanctuary is primarily to house wolves. Other mammals found in this sanctuary include the jungle cat, leopard, bonnet macaque, langur and pangolin. Around 230 species of birds have been observed here over the years. The Sanctuary has been known for its once abundant Cycas circinalis species, which in the recent time has been over exploited by the flower decorators and local doctors.

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The Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is located in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana and is spread over an area of 28.92 hectares. According to a local legend, the lake in the sanctuary had an ancient link during the epic Mahabharata days when the Pandavas escaped to Haridwar through a tunnel under the lake. It is home to blue peafowl, rufous treepie, greater coucal, Indian grey hornbill and coppersmith barbet.

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The Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) is located in the Rajsamand District of Rajasthan and covers an area of 578 km2. It is home to Indian wolf, Indian leopard, sloth bear, striped hyena, Golden jackal, jungle cat, sambhar, nilgai, chausingha, etc.

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Cerbera odollam, commonly known as the Suicide tree, Pong-pong, and Othalanga. It is a species of tree native to India and other parts of southern Asia. It grows wild along the coast in many parts of Kerala. It yields a potent poison, often used for suicide or murder. The kernels of C. Odollam contain cerberin, a potent cardenolide glycoside belonging to the cardiac glycoside family of toxins that includes digoxin. The poison blocks the calcium ion channels in heart muscle, causing disruption of the heart beat. This is most often fatal. Cerberin is difficult to detect in autopsies and its taste can be masked with strong spices. Therefore it is often used in homicide and suicide in India.

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The Red List of IUCN provides the list of threatened species. It is recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. It was founded in 1964 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is the world’s main authority on the conservation status of species.

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Nacre also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up the outer coating of pearls. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.

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Eco-Development Forces (EDF) Scheme was launched in 1980s under Ministry of Defence. Under this scheme, Eco Task Force (ETF) Battalions are set up which are though under Ministry of Defence, yet the operational expenditure of it is borne by Ministry of Environment. The first Ecological Task Force (also known as Ecological Battalion) was set up in 1982, after Indira Gandhi received inputs that the problem of unemployment among retired Jawans and of the need to check deforestation and soil erosion could be solved in a single stroke.

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The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) on Biological Diversity was organized in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 2010. It marked the Rio+20 Convention on Biological Diversity.

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A chronic occupational lung disease contracted by the prolonged breathing of coal mine dust. The silica and carbon in the coal dust cause black lung disease. About one of every 20 miners studied in the US has X-ray evidence of black lung disease, a form of pneumoconiosis. In its early stages, called simple pneumoconiosis, the disease does not prevent the miner from working or carrying on most normal activities. In some miners, the disease never becomes more severe. Pneumoconiosis is not reversible. There is no specific treatment. Black lung disease has gone by many names, including anthracosis, black lung, black spittle, coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, miner’s asthma, and silicosis.