QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 23 January 2020 – Environment

Solution: c)

Phosphorus is a major constituent of biological membranes, nucleic acids and cellular energy transfer systems. Many animals also need large quantities of this element to make shells, bones and teeth. The natural reservoir of phosphorus is rock, which contains phosphorus in the form of phosphates. When rocks are weathered, minute amounts of these phosphates dissolve in soil solution and are absorbed by the roots of the plants.

Herbivores and other animals obtain this element from plants. The waste products and the dead organisms are decomposed by phosphate-solubilising bacteria releasing phosphorus. Unlike carbon cycle, there is no respiratory release of phosphorus into atmosphere.

Solution: b)

Differences between carbon and phosphorus cycle are firstly, atmospheric inputs of phosphorus through

rainfall are much smaller than carbon inputs, and, secondly, gaseous exchanges of phosphorus between organism and environment are negligible.

Solution: a)

The Chilika Lake in Odisha has emerged as the “single largest habitat of Irrawaddy dolphins in the world” with the spotting of about 155 such animals. Chilika is Asia’s largest brackish-water lagoon with an estuarine character, and one of India’s first Ramsar Convention sites.

Solution: d)

Solution: c)

Pakke Tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar.