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Home › Environmental Studies › Ecosystems & Ecology Fundamentals

Ecosystems & Ecology Fundamentals — Environmental Studies Questions & Practice

Practise 302 Ecosystems & Ecology Fundamentals questions from Environmental Studies for competitive exams such as UPSC, Banking, SSC and Railway. Read the worked questions below, check every answer with an explanation, and track what you get wrong.

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Practice questions on Ecosystems & Ecology Fundamentals — with answers

Try each question first, then open the answer. Explanations are included.

1. Who coined the term 'Ecology' in 1866?

  1. AErnst Haeckel
  2. BA.G. Tansley
  3. CEugene Odum
  4. DCharles Elton
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Answer: A

German biologist Ernst Haeckel coined the term 'Ökologie' (Ecology) in 1866.

2. Who introduced the concept and term 'Ecosystem' in 1935?

  1. AA.G. Tansley (Arthur Tansley)
  2. BErnst Haeckel
  3. CCharles Elton
  4. DRaymond Lindeman
Show answer

Answer: A

Arthur Tansley introduced the term 'Ecosystem' in 1935 to describe the structural and functional unit of nature.

3. Who formulated the '10 Percent Law' of energy transfer between trophic levels in an ecosystem?

  1. ARaymond Lindeman
  2. BArthur Tansley
  3. CEugene Odum
  4. DErnst Haeckel
Show answer

Answer: A

Raymond Lindeman (1942) proposed that only 10% of energy is transferred to the next trophic level.

4. Which ecological pyramid is ALWAYS upright in any stable ecosystem?

  1. APyramid of Energy
  2. BPyramid of Biomass
  3. CPyramid of Numbers
  4. DPyramid of Species
Show answer

Answer: A

The Pyramid of Energy is always upright because energy is lost as heat at every successive trophic level according to 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.

5. In an aquatic ecosystem (like a lake or ocean), the Pyramid of Biomass is usually:

  1. AInverted (inverted pyramid)
  2. BAlways Upright
  3. CSpindle shaped
  4. DHorizontal
Show answer

Answer: A

In aquatic ecosystems, the biomass of standing crop of phytoplankton is small compared to larger fish, making the biomass pyramid inverted.

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