UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — a hundred years ago January 8, 1926

Q1. For controlling rats in sugarcane and eradicating venomous snakes, the small Indian mongoose was deliberately introduced to island ecosystems in the late nineteenth century, in each of which it later devastated native fauna. To how many distinct island regions—among the Caribbean, Hawaii and Fiji—had it been introduced by 1883?

  • A. 2
  • B. 3
  • C. 4
  • D. 5

Q2. The small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctatus) is correctly classified under which family of the order Carnivora?

  • A. Herpestidae
  • B. Viverridae
  • C. Mustelidae
  • D. Felidae

Q3. In which year was the small Indian mongoose introduced to Fiji as a biological-control agent against rats in sugarcane plantations?

  • A. 1872
  • B. 1882
  • C. 1883
  • D. 1935

Q4. The IUCN's list of '100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species' originally included the Rinderpest virus. After that virus was eradicated, which single species received the most votes in a 2013 survey of invasion biologists to become the list's replacement 100th entry?

  • A. Salvinia molesta (giant salvinia)
  • B. Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth)
  • C. Lantana camara
  • D. Parthenium hysterophorus

Q5. In which year was the IUCN list '100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species' first compiled from the Global Invasive Species Database?

  • A. 1992
  • B. 2000
  • C. 2010
  • D. 2013

Q6. Target 6 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for eradicating or controlling invasive alien species 'especially in priority sites'. Which single type of ecosystem is expressly named in the Target as such a priority site?

  • A. Islands
  • B. Peatlands
  • C. Grasslands
  • D. Coral reefs

Q7. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which contains Target 6 on invasive alien species, was adopted at which meeting?

  • A. The fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP15) to the CBD, Montreal
  • B. The twenty-sixth Conference of Parties (COP26) to the UNFCCC, Glasgow
  • C. The sixteenth Conference of Parties (COP16) to the CBD, Cali
  • D. The tenth Conference of Parties (COP10) to the CBD, Nagoya

Q8. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 amends which parent legislation?

  • A. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002
  • B. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
  • C. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  • D. The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

Q9. Documented biological-control failures such as the small Indian mongoose and the cane toad are catalogued in the Global Invasive Species Database. This database is maintained by which body operating under the IUCN's Species Survival Commission?

  • A. The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
  • B. The World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)
  • C. The Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM)
  • D. The Cat Specialist Group

Q10. Which single ministry is the nodal (lead) ministry for implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in India?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
  • C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Ministry of Science and Technology