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48 questions from UPSC CSE Prelims GS Paper 1 on Ecosystems & Ecology Concepts (Environment & Ecology). Spanning from 1999 to 2024. Practice with show/hide answers and detailed explanations.
48
Questions
21
Years
27
Easy
19
Moderate
Based on 48 questions across 21 years, UPSC has consistently tested aspirants' understanding of Ecosystems & Ecology Concepts within the broader Environment & Ecology syllabus. The questions range from factual recall to application-based analysis.
Recent trends show UPSC moving towards statement-based questions that combine multiple aspects of Ecosystems & Ecology Concepts. Aspirants should focus on understanding concepts rather than memorizing isolated facts.
Q: Consider the following statements: 1. Lions do not have a particular breeding season. 2. Unlike most other big cats, cheetahs do not roar. 3. Unlike male lions, male leopards do not proclaim their territory by scent marking. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Q: Which one of the following trees exhibits an obligate relationship with an insect that has co-evolved with it and is the only insect that can pollinate this tree?
Q: Consider the following: 1. Butterfly 2. Fish 3. Frog How many of the above undergo metamorphosis?
Q: निम्नलिखित वृक्षों पर विचार कीजिए : 1. कटहल (Artocarpus heterophyllus) 2. महुआ (Madhuca indica) 3. सागौन (Tectona grandis) उपर्युक्त में से कितने पर्णपाती वृक्ष हैं?
Q: Consider the following trees: 1. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) 2. Mahua (Madhuca indica) 3. Teak (Tectona grandis) How many of the above are deciduous trees?
Q: "Biorock technology" is talked about in which one of the following situations ?
Q: Certain species of which one of the following organisms are well known as cultivators of fungi?
Q: In the nature, which of the following is/are most likely to be found surviving on a surface without soil? 1. Fern 2. Lichen 3. Moss 4. Mushroom Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Q: Consider the following kinds of organisms: 1. Copepods 2. Cyanobacteria 3. Diatoms 4. Foraminifera Which of the above are primary producers in the food chains of oceans?
Q: Consider the following animals: 1. Hedgehog 2. Marmot 3. Pangolin To reduce the chance of being captured by predators, which of the above organism/organisms rolls up and protects its/their vulnerable parts?
Q: Which one of the following is a filter feeder?
Q: Which of the following are detritivores? 1. Earthworms 2. Jellyfish 3. Millipedes 4. Seahorses 5. Woodlice Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Q: "Leaf litter decomposes faster than in any other biome and as a result the soil surface is often almost bare. Apart from trees, the vegetation is largely composed of plant forms that reach up into the canopy vicariously, by climbing the trees or growing as epiphytes, rooted on the upper branches of trees." This is the most likely description of
Q: सवाना की वनस्पति में फैले हुए छोटे वृक्षों के साथ घास के मैदान होते हैं, किन्तु इस क्षेत्र में कोई वृक्ष नहीं होते हैं। ऐसे क्षेत्र में वन विकास सामान्यतः एक या एकाधिक या कुछ परिस्थितियों के संयोजन के द्वारा नियंत्रित होता है। ऐसी परिस्थितियों निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सी हैं? 1. विलवर्ती प्राणी और दीमक 2. अग्नि 3. चरने वाले शाकभक्षी प्राणी (हर्बिवोर्स) 4. मौसमी वर्षा 5. मृदा के गुण नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर सही उत्तर चुनें:
Q: निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए : 1. कछुओं की कुछ जातियाँ शाकभक्षी होती हैं। 2. मछलियों की कुछ जातियाँ माँसभक्षी होती हैं। 3. कछुए की कुछ जातियाँ सर्वभक्षी होती हैं। 4. साँपों की कुछ जातियाँ सर्वभक्षी होती हैं। उपयुक्त में से कौन-से कथन सही हैं?
Q: Which of the following leaf modifications occur(s) in the desert areas to inhibit water loss? 1. Hard and waxy leaves 2. Tiny leaves 3. Thorns instead of leaves Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Q: निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए : 1. विश्व की सर्वाधिक प्रवाल भित्तियाँ उपउष्णकटिबंधीय सागर जलों में मिलती हैं। 2. विश्व की एक-तिहाई से अधिक प्रवाल भित्तियाँ ऑस्ट्रेलिया, इंडोनेशिया और फिलीपींस के राज्य-क्षेत्रों में स्थित हैं। 3. उपउष्णकटिबंधीय वर्गों में ऊष्म, प्रवाल भित्तियाँ कहीं अधिक संख्या में जंतु संघों का परपोषण करती हैं। उपयुक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं ?
Q: Due to some reasons, if there is a huge fall in the population of species of butterflies, what could be its likely consequence/consequences? 1. Pollination of some plants could be adversely affected. 2. There could be a drastic increase in the fungal infections of some cultivated plants. 3. It could lead to a fall in the population of some species of wasps, spiders and birds. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Q: Which one of the following regions of India has a combination of mangrove forest, evergreen forest and deciduous forest?
Q: In India, in which one of the following types of forests is teak a dominant tree species?
Q: Which one of the following is the best description of the term ‘ecosystem’?
Q: If you walk through countryside, you are likely to see some birds stalking alongside the cattle to seize the insects disturbed by their movement through grasses. Which of the following is/are such bird/birds? 1. Painted Stork 2. Common Myna 3. Black-necked Crane Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Q: Which of the following have coral reefs? 1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands 2. Gulf of Kachchh 3. Gulf of Mannar 4. Sunderbans Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Q: In the grasslands, trees do not replace the grasses as a part of an ecological succession because of
Q: Which one of the following is the correct sequence of ecosystems in the order of decreasing productivity?
Q: With reference to food chains in ecosystems, consider the following statements: 1. A food chain illustrates the order in which a chain of organisms feed upon each other. 2. Food chains are found within the populations of a species. 3. A food chain illustrates the numbers of each organism which are eaten by others. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Q: Which one of the following terms describes not only the physical space occupied by an organism, but also its functional role in the community of organisms?
Q: With reference to the food chains in ecosystems, which of the following kinds of organism is/are known as decomposer organism/organisms? 1. Virus 2. Fungi 3. Bacteria Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Q: Which of the following is/are unique characteristic/characteristics of equatorial forests? 1. Presence of tall, closely set trees with crowns forming a continuous canopy 2. Coexistence of a large number of species 3. Presence of numerous varieties of epiphytes Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Q: Which of the following leaf modifications occurs/occur in desert areas to inhibit water loss? 1. Hard and waxy leaves 2. Tiny leaves or no leaves 3. Thorns instead of leaves Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Q: Consider the following kinds of organisms: 1. Bat 2. Bee 3. Bird Which of the above is/are pollinating agent/agents?
Q: The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment describes the following major categories of ecosystem services—provisioning, supporting, regulating, preserving and cultural. Which one of the following is a supporting service?
Q: What would happen if phytoplankton of an ocean is completely destroyed for some reason? 1. The ocean as a carbon sink would be adversely affected. 2. The food chains in the ocean would be adversely affected. 3. The density of ocean water would drastically decrease. Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Q: In the context of ecosystem productivity, marine upwelling zones are important as they increase the marine productivity by bringing the 1. decomposer microorganisms to the surface, 2. nutrients to the surface, 3. bottom-dwelling organisms to the surface. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Q: If a tropical rain forest is removed, it does not regenerate quickly as compared to a tropical deciduous forest. This is because
Q: Biodiversity forms the basis for human existence in the following ways: 1. Soil formation 2. Prevention of soil erosion 3. Recycling of waste 4. Pollination of crops Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Q: A new type of El Nino called El Nino Modoki appeared in the news. In this context, consider the following statements: 1. Normal El Nino forms in the Central Pacific ocean whereas El Nino Modoki forms in Eastern Pacific ocean. 2. Normal El Nino results in diminished hurricanes in the Atlantic ocean but El Nino Modoki results in a greater number of hurricanes with greater frequency. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Q: Some species of plants are insectivorous. Why ?
Q: In India, which type of forest among the following occupies the largest area?
Q: King Cobra is the only snake that makes its own nest. Why does it make its nest?
Q: Consider the following names : 1. Ike 2. Kate 3. Gustav Which of the above are the names of hurricanes that had occurred very recently ?
Q: For which one of the following snakes is the diet mainly composed of other snakes?
Q: The largest coral reef in the world is found near the coast of which one of the following countries?
Q: Assertion (A): Unlike temperate forests, the tropical rain forests, if cleared, can yield productive farm-land that can support intensive agriculture for several years even without chemical fertilizers. Reason (R): The primary productivity of the tropical rain forest is very high when compared to that of the temperate forests.
Q: Which one of the following animals is monogamous?
Q: A class of animals known as Marsupials is a characteristic feature of
Q: Within biological communities, some species are important in determining the ability of a large number of other species to persist in the community. Such species are called
Q: Which one of the following is a useful functional association between fungi and the roots of higher plants?
UPSC has asked 48 questions on Ecosystems & Ecology Concepts in GS Paper 1 Prelims between 1999 and 2024. This sub-topic falls under Environment & Ecology.
Questions on Ecosystems & Ecology Concepts have appeared in UPSC Prelims in the following years: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999. The topic has appeared in 21 out of 31 years.
Among 48 questions on Ecosystems & Ecology Concepts: 27 are easy, 19 are moderate, and 2 are difficult. Most questions test conceptual understanding of the topic.
