Section 13 — NEET-Pattern Practice Questions (Biodiversity and Conservation)
Biodiversity and Conservation is a short but high-yield NEET chapter — it shows up dependably, and its questions are almost always gettable because they are built on a fixed set of facts and figures. The questions sweep across the whole chapter: the three levels of biodiversity, how many species exist, the latitudinal gradient and species-area relationship, the importance of species diversity, the causes of biodiversity loss (the Evil Quartet), and the two arms of conservation (in-situ and ex-situ).
This section is a focused 28-question practice quiz covering the entire chapter — a mix of direct number recall (species counts, percentages, hotspot and protected-area figures), concept traps (which level, which cause, in-situ vs ex-situ), and one quantitative item on the species-area equation.
Important note: These are NEET-pattern practice questions built on the recurring core concepts of this chapter. Do not treat them as exact authenticated year-tagged papers unless each one is separately matched against an official question paper and year.
How to use: Treat this like a timed mock — give yourself about 30 minutes for all 28 questions (roughly a minute each). Attempt first, then read each explanation carefully. Skim the recap of NEET hooks below to spot the recurring patterns before you begin.
Mini Recap — NEET's Top Hooks for This Chapter
Most questions on Biodiversity and Conservation fall into these recurring patterns:
1. The three levels — genetic (variation within a species, e.g. Rauwolfia vomitoria and reserpine; 50,000 rice strains, 1,000 mango varieties), species (Western Ghats have more amphibians than the Eastern Ghats), and ecological (ecosystem-level diversity). The term was popularised by Edward Wilson.
2. Key numbers — about 1.5 million species recorded (IUCN 2004); Robert May's conservative estimate is 7 million on earth; more than 70 per cent of recorded species are animals and more than 70 per cent of animals are insects; Fungi outnumber fishes, amphibians, reptiles and mammals combined; India has 2.4 per cent of the world's land area but 8.1 per cent of global species diversity, making it one of 12 mega diversity countries.
3. Patterns — species diversity decreases from the equator to the poles; the species-area relationship (Alexander von Humboldt) is a rectangular hyperbola, linear on a log scale, with slope Z of 0.1 to 0.2 for small areas and 0.6 to 1.2 across continents.
4. Loss — the IUCN Red List (2004) records 784 extinctions in 500 years; more than 15,500 species currently face the threat of extinction; present extinction rates are 100 to 1,000 times faster than pre-human rates. The four causes make up the Evil Quartet: habitat loss and fragmentation, over-exploitation, alien species invasions, and co-extinctions.
5. Conservation — reasons are narrowly utilitarian, broadly utilitarian and ethical; in-situ protects whole ecosystems (34 biodiversity hotspots; India has 14 biosphere reserves, 90 national parks, 448 wildlife sanctuaries, plus sacred groves), while ex-situ moves threatened species off-site (zoos, botanical gardens, seed banks, cryopreservation, in-vitro fertilisation, tissue culture).