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Geography & Environment · Environment & Ecology

Biodiversity, Species & Conservation: 30 previous year questions

UPSC has asked 30 questions on Biodiversity, Species & Conservation between 1999 and 2026: CAPF 8 · CDS 6 · NDA 4 · EPFO (APFC) 4 · Geo-Scientist 3 · CSE 3 · CISF (LDCE) 2. 21 of them came after 2015, so this is a live topic examiners keep returning to. 3 were set in Civil Services Prelims; the rest come from UPSC's other papers, which draw on the same question bank.

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Tap an option to check yourself. Answers follow the official UPSC key; where the key was dropped or disputed the question is not shown.

CAPF2026Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

Consider the following statements regarding biodiversity conservation: 1. In situ conservation refers to conservation of species in their natural habitats. 2. Nature reserves are areas specifically designed for wildlife conservation. 3. Captive breeding of animals is an in situ conservation measure. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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Answer B (official UPSC key)In situ conservation: conservation of species in natural habitats (national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves) | Nature reserves are designed for wildlife conservation | NOT: captive breeding as in situ; it is ex situ
CAPF2024Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·2

With reference to ‘Black Tigers’, which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. They are also referred to as Melanistic Tigers 2. In India they are found only in Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha Select the answer using the code given below :

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Answer C (official UPSC key)Black tigers are melanistic tigers (colour variant of the Bengal tiger) | In India they are found exclusively in Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha
NDA2021 · 2Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

Which one of the following statements about biodiversity is not correct ?

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Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT: more than 100 biodiversity hotspots; there are 36 recognized hotspots in the world | 'Biodiversity' coined by Walter G. Rosen (1986); 'biodiversity hotspots' coined by Norman Myers (1988)
CAPF2018Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

Which of the following statements about biodiversity hot spots is/are correct? 1. Biodiversity hot spots are identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 2. Biodiversity hot spots are defined according to their vegetation. 3. In India, Eastern Ghats and Western Himalaya are the biodiversity hot spots. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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Answer A (official UPSC key)Biodiversity hotspots (per key): identified by IUCN; defined according to their vegetation | NOT: Eastern Ghats and Western Himalaya as India's hotspots
EPFO (APFC)2015Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

Which of the following is not true of the Western Ghats ?

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Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT: ONGC surveys found huge oil reserves in the Western Ghats | UNESCO declared 39 sites in the Western Ghats World Heritage Sites (2012) | Western Ghats: one of the eight hottest biodiversity hotspots
EPFO (APFC)2015Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 5·1

Besides resistance to pests, what are the other prospects for which plants have been genetically engineered ? 1. To enable them to withstand drought 2. To increase the nutritive value of the produce 3. To enable them to grow and do photosynthesis in spaceships and space stations 4. To increase their shelf life Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

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Answer D (official UPSC key)Plants have been genetically engineered (besides pest resistance) to withstand drought, increase nutritive value, grow and photosynthesise in spaceships and space stations, and increase shelf life
CAPF2012Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

Which one among the following statements is not correct?

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Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT: South-East Asian islands are poor in biodiversity; they are among the richest regions (geographic isolation, high endemism)
EPFO (APFC)2012Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

Which of the following can be threats to the biodiversity of a geographical area? 1. Global warming 2. Fragmentation of habitats 3. Invasion of alien species 4. Promotion of vegetarianism Choose correct answer

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Answer A (official UPSC key)Threats to biodiversity: global warming, fragmentation of habitats, invasion of alien species | Promotion of vegetarianism is not a threat
EPFO (APFC)2012Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

Vultures, which were very common in our countryside a few years ago, are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to one of the following:

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Answer B (official UPSC key)Vulture decline in India (over 90% in some species since the 1990s) is due to diclofenac, a drug used to treat cattle
CAPF2009Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 4·3

Which one of the following is the theme for International Day for Biodiversity in the year 2009 ?

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Answer D (official UPSC key)Theme of International Day for Biological Diversity 2009: Invasive Alien Species | IDB is celebrated on 22 May (adoption of CBD text, 22 May 1992)
CSE1999Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 2·1

"India has the largest population of the Asian X. Today, there are just about 20,000 to 25,000 X in their natural habitat spreading across the evergreen forests, dry thorn forest, swamps, and grasslands. Their prime habitats are however the moist deciduous forests. The X population in India ranges from northwest India where they are found in the forest divisions of Dehradun. Bijnor and National districts, of UP to the Western Ghats in the states of Karnataka and Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Central India, their population is distributed over Southern Bihar and Orissa. In the East, they are seen in North Bengal, Assam and a few other states." The animal "X" referred to in this quotation is:

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Answer B (official UPSC key)India has the largest population of the Asian elephant (about 20,000 to 25,000 in natural habitat) | Asian elephant: Endangered (IUCN), CITES Appendix I, Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 | National Heritage Animal of India since 2010 | Project Elephant launched 1992
CSE1999Biodiversity, Species & ConservationOn card ENV 5·1

Assertion (A): Insect-resistant transgenic cotton has been produced by inserting the Bt gene. Reason (R): The Bt gene is derived from a bacterium. [1999]

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Answer B (official UPSC key)Insect-resistant Bt cotton is produced by inserting Bt (Cry) genes | Bt gene is derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis | Both true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

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