Ans: A

Exp:

Seaweeds are macroscopic algae growing in marine and shallow coastal waters and on rocky shores. 

• Seaweeds are wonder plants of the sea, the new renewable source of food, energy, chemicals and medicines with manifold nutritional, industrial, biomedical, agriculture and personal care applications. 
• Seaweeds are also termed as the ‘Medical Food of the 21st Century’ as they are being used as laxatives, for making pharmaceutical capsules, in the treatment of goiter, cancer, bone-replacement therapy and in cardiovascular surgeries. 
• The major industrial applications of seaweeds are as a source of agar, agarose and carrageenan used in laboratories, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cardboard, paper, paint and processed foods. 
• Seaweeds are abundant along the Tamil Nadu and Gujarat coasts and around Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The most cultivated seaweed are Kappaphycus alvarezii, Gracilaria, Saccharina Japonica, Pyropia, Sargassum fusiform, and others.

Ans: B

Exp:

Biogeographic realms are large spatial regions within which ecosystems share a broadly similar biological evolutionary history. 

• Eight terrestrial biogeographic realms are typically recognized, corresponding roughly to continents. 
• Although similar ecosystems (such as tropical moist forests) share similar processes and major vegetation types wherever they are found, their species composition varies markedly depending on the biogeographic realm in which they are found. 
• Assessing biodiversity at the level of biogeographic realms is important because the realms display substantial variation in the extent of change, they face different drivers of change, and there may be differences in the options for mitigating or managing the drivers. 
• Terrestrial biogeographic realms reflect freshwater biodiversity patterns reasonably well, but marine biogeographic realms are poorly known and largely undefined.  
• The eight biogeographic realms are Nearctic, Palaearctic, Africo-tropical (formerly Ethiopian), Indo-Malayan (formerly Oriental), Oceanian, Australian, Antarctic, and Neotropical. South Asia represents several of these regions.
• India has two major realms called the Palaearctic and the Indo-Malayan and three biomes i.e. tropical humid forests, tropical deciduous forests and warm deserts/semi-deserts.

Ans: C

Exp:

Established in 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened               Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species.

• Currently, there are more than 157,100 species on The IUCN Red List, with more than 44,000 species threatened with extinction, including 41% of amphibians, 37% of sharks and rays, 36% of reef-building corals, 34% of conifers, 26% of mammals and 12% of birds.
• The Red Panda, the Bengal Tiger and the Ganges River Dolphin are ‘endangered’. 
• While the Snow Leopard is considered ‘vulnerable’.

Ans: D

Exp:

The IUCN Red List Categories indicate how close a species is to becoming extinct. Species are assessed against five criteria based on geographic range, population size and population decline/increase, in addition to extinction probability analyses. These criteria determine which category is most appropriate for the species.

Ans: B

Exp:

Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972 consists of 6 schedule lists, which give varying degrees of protection

• Animals listed in schedule 1 and Part II of Schedule 2 have absolute protection – offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties. Examples of animals listed in Schedule 1 are lion-tailed macaque, rhinoceros, great Indian bustard, narcondam hornbill, nicobar megapode, black buck, etc.
• Animals listed in Schedule 3 and Schedule 4 are also protected, but the penalties are lower compared to Schedule 1 and part 2 of schedule 2. Examples of animals listed in Schedule 3 are hyaena, hogdeer, nilgai, goral, sponges, barking deer, etc.
• Animals listed in Schedule 5 are called “vermin” which can be hunted.
• Cultivation, Collection, extraction, trade, etc. of Plants and their derivatives listed in Schedule 6 are prohibited.