Govt. Exams
Entrance Exams
The carrying capacity of the ecosystem is being exceeded due to removal of natural predators. Herbivore populations exceed the ecosystem's ability to sustain them without degradation, violating the carrying capacity principle. This leads to overgrazing and ecosystem destabilization.
Climate warming → permafrost thaw → CO₂ release → more warming is a positive feedback loop that amplifies the initial change, unlike negative feedback which stabilizes systems.
India's exceptional biodiversity is due to its diverse climatic zones (tropical to alpine), varied topography, monsoon patterns, and complex geological history creating multiple ecological niches.
Drought is a density-independent (abiotic) factor because its effect on population is not influenced by population density. It equally affects all populations regardless of density.
Predation is an ecological interaction where one organism (predator) hunts and consumes another (prey) for energy and nutrients.
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global warming, accounting for about 75% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Eutrophication is the over-enrichment of water with nutrients (phosphates and nitrates), leading to excessive algal growth, dead zones, and oxygen depletion.
Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of atmospheric N₂ to ammonia (NH₃) or nitrates by nitrogen-fixing bacteria like Rhizobium and Azospirillum.
Solar energy is a renewable resource that can be naturally replenished. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are non-renewable fossil fuels.
Biomagnification is the process where toxic pollutants (like DDT, mercury) accumulate in higher concentrations in organisms at higher trophic levels due to bioaccumulation.
