Biodiversity and Conservation — NEET Botany MCQs with answers

Biodiversity and Conservation is a Class 12 Botany chapter in the NEET (UG) syllabus. NEET720 has 563 reviewed practice questions on it, each with a quick answer and a step-by-step explanation. The 8 questions below are free and fixed, so you can bookmark this page; the full chapter, plus mistake tracking and spaced revision, is in the app.

Topics covered

Biodiversity Levels · IUCN Categories · International Treaties · Biopiracy · Biodiversity Levels and Patterns · Biodiversity Loss · Biodiversity Conservation · Hotspots and Protected Areas of India · Biodiversity concept · Species diversity gradient · Importance of biodiversity · Causes of biodiversity loss · Species classification by conservation status · India's biodiversity · Species diversity · Extinction · Species diversity measurement · Value of biodiversity · Conservation strategies · Extinction examples · Conservation approaches · Extinction causes · Biodiversity documentation · Ecosystem services · Ecosystem stability · Threats to biodiversity · Conservation legislation in India · Ecosystem restoration · Alpha, beta, gamma diversity · Species diversity and productivity · Chipko movement · Genetic diversity examples · Conservation prioritization · Species diversity and evolution · Extinction rates · Coral reef biodiversity · Conservation genetics · Biosphere reserves in India · Extinction vulnerability factors · Genetic diversity in agriculture

8 free Biodiversity and Conservation practice questions with answers

Choose an answer in your head before opening it. Each explanation says why the correct option is right and, where relevant, why the tempting wrong option is wrong.

1. Question 1 · easy · Biodiversity Conservation

   In-situ conservation of biodiversity refers to the protection of endangered species:

   • A.In their natural habitat, along with the entire ecosystem they are part of
   • B.By raising them in botanical gardens away from their native range
   • C.By storing their seeds in cryopreservation facilities at very low temperatures
   • D.By breeding them in captivity in zoological parks
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: A. In their natural habitat, along with the entire ecosystem they are part of

   In-situ conservation protects species within their natural habitat, conserving the whole ecosystem together rather than isolating the target organism.

   In-situ ('on site') conservation means protecting a species where it naturally occurs, e.g., national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves and sacred groves. This protects not just the target species but the entire community and its interactions, which is why it is generally preferred as a long-term strategy. Options B, C and D all describe removing organisms from their natural setting for protection elsewhere, which is the definition of ex-situ conservation (botanical gardens, seed banks, zoos, cryopreservation, tissue culture).

   Common mistake: Students sometimes think 'in-situ' only means protecting the species itself, forgetting it means conserving the whole ecosystem in place.

   Key point: In-situ = protection within the natural habitat/ecosystem; ex-situ = protection outside the natural habitat.

2. Question 2 · medium · Biodiversity Conservation

   A region is designated as a 'biodiversity hotspot' primarily on the basis of which combination of criteria?

   • A.High species richness and large total geographical area
   • B.High species richness, high endemism, and significant threat of habitat loss
   • C.High endemism only, regardless of the level of threat faced
   • D.Presence of a large number of protected national parks
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. High species richness, high endemism, and significant threat of habitat loss

   Hotspots, as conceived by Norman Myers, require exceptionally high species richness with high endemism combined with substantial threat from habitat loss.

   Norman Myers identified biodiversity hotspots using three criteria together: (1) exceptionally high species richness, (2) high degree of endemism (species found nowhere else), and (3) the region being under significant threat of habitat destruction/degradation. This threat criterion is essential because it makes hotspots priority areas for urgent conservation. Area size (B) and simple presence of protected areas (D) are not defining criteria, and endemism without threat (C) does not qualify a region as a hotspot.

   Common mistake: Students often remember only 'high species richness' and forget the threat/endemism components are equally essential.

   Key point: Hotspot = high richness + high endemism + high threat, together — not any single factor alone.

3. Question 3 · medium · Biodiversity Conservation

   Which of the following best distinguishes a wildlife sanctuary from a national park?

   • A.Sanctuaries are always larger in area than national parks
   • B.National parks allow grazing and timber extraction while sanctuaries strictly prohibit all human entry
   • C.Wildlife sanctuaries may permit certain regulated activities such as grazing or collection of minor forest produce, whereas national parks prohibit most such human activities
   • D.National parks and wildlife sanctuaries are legally identical with no difference in permitted activities
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: C. Wildlife sanctuaries may permit certain regulated activities such as grazing or collection of minor forest produce, whereas national parks prohibit most such human activities

   National parks are more strictly protected, generally prohibiting grazing, forestry and cultivation, while wildlife sanctuaries may allow some regulated human use.

   National parks are highly protected areas aimed at conserving wildlife and habitat with strict regulation, typically prohibiting grazing, forestry, and cultivation. Wildlife sanctuaries also conserve wildlife but may permit limited, regulated human activities like grazing or collection of minor forest produce, making them somewhat less restrictive than national parks. Size (C) is not the defining distinction, and the two are legally distinct categories under Indian wildlife law, not identical (D). Option B reverses the actual regulatory relationship.

   Common mistake: Students often assume both categories are equally strict or confuse which one permits grazing.

   Key point: National parks: strictest protection, minimal human activity. Sanctuaries: protected but allow some regulated use.

4. Question 4 · medium · Biodiversity Conservation

   The zonation pattern of a biosphere reserve, incorporating a strictly protected core zone surrounded by buffer/transition zones with regulated human use, primarily serves the purpose of:

   • A.Restricting the reserve to a single species for captive breeding purposes
   • B.Ensuring that no human activity of any kind is permitted anywhere within the reserve
   • C.Maximizing timber production from the core zone for commercial forestry
   • D.Allowing biodiversity conservation to be combined with sustainable human use in a single large multi-purpose protected area
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. Allowing biodiversity conservation to be combined with sustainable human use in a single large multi-purpose protected area

   Biosphere reserves are larger, multi-purpose protected areas balancing strict core-zone conservation with regulated, sustainable human use in buffer/transition zones.

   Unlike a national park, a biosphere reserve is designed as a larger multi-purpose area with a core zone that has minimal disturbance (similar to a national park) surrounded by buffer and transition zones where regulated human activities such as traditional resource use, tourism, and research are permitted. This zonation allows conservation and sustainable human livelihoods to coexist. Options B, C and D each misrepresent this balanced, zoned design.

   Common mistake: Students often treat biosphere reserves as identical to national parks, missing the buffer/transition zones that permit human activity.

   Key point: Biosphere reserve = core (strict protection) + buffer/transition (regulated sustainable use), combining conservation with human use.

5. Question 5 · easy · Biodiversity Conservation

   Sacred groves, found in regions such as the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Maharashtra and parts of Meghalaya, represent a traditional practice of biodiversity conservation because they are:

   • A.Government-declared national parks with legally notified boundaries
   • B.Patches of forest protected by local communities on religious or cultural grounds, acting as refugia for rare and endemic species
   • C.Botanical gardens maintained by religious institutions for ornamental plant display
   • D.Seed bank facilities attached to temples for long-term seed storage
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. Patches of forest protected by local communities on religious or cultural grounds, acting as refugia for rare and endemic species

   Sacred groves are community-protected forest patches preserved due to religious/cultural sentiment, serving as in-situ refuges for rare and endemic species.

   Sacred groves are an important traditional, community-based in-situ conservation practice found across India, including the Western Ghats (Karnataka, Maharashtra), Meghalaya, and Rajasthan. Local communities protect these forest patches due to religious or cultural beliefs, without formal government notification. This traditional protection has effectively conserved rare, endemic, and threatened species that might otherwise have been lost to habitat destruction. Options B, C, and D misidentify sacred groves as formal government protected areas, ornamental gardens, or seed storage facilities respectively.

   Common mistake: Students sometimes confuse sacred groves with formally declared sanctuaries or national parks.

   Key point: Sacred groves = community/religiously protected forest patches, an in-situ conservation practice, not a government-notified protected area.

6. Question 6 · medium · Biodiversity Conservation

   Statement I: The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka together form one of the globally recognized biodiversity hotspots. Statement II: India has no globally recognized biodiversity hotspots on its territory apart from the Western Ghats. In light of the above statements, choose the correct option:

   • A.Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
   • B.Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
   • C.Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
   • D.Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: C. Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect

   The Western Ghats-Sri Lanka hotspot is real, but India also has other recognized hotspots (Eastern Himalayas/Indo-Burma, Sundaland/Nicobar Islands), so Statement II is false.

   Statement I is correct: the Western Ghats, together with Sri Lanka, is recognized as a single global biodiversity hotspot due to high endemism and species richness under threat. Statement II is incorrect because India has multiple recognized hotspots on its territory beyond the Western Ghats, including parts of the Eastern Himalayas/Indo-Burma region and the Sundaland/Nicobar Islands region. Hence only Statement I is correct.

   Common mistake: Students often think the Western Ghats is India's only hotspot and forget the Himalayan/northeastern and Nicobar regions.

   Key point: India intersects with more than one global hotspot: Western Ghats-Sri Lanka, Eastern Himalayas/Indo-Burma, and Sundaland/Nicobar Islands.

7. Question 7 · easy · Biodiversity Conservation

   An 'endemic species', a concept central to defining biodiversity hotspots, is best described as a species that is:

   • A.Introduced deliberately into a new habitat outside its native range
   • B.Found in every biome across all continents
   • C.Extinct in the wild but surviving only in captivity
   • D.Found naturally in only one particular geographic region and nowhere else in the world
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. Found naturally in only one particular geographic region and nowhere else in the world

   Endemic species occur naturally only in a specific, restricted geographic area and are found nowhere else.

   Endemism refers to a species being restricted to a particular geographic region, such that it is found nowhere else in the world. High endemism is one of the key criteria used to identify biodiversity hotspots because such species are especially vulnerable to extinction if their limited habitat is destroyed. Option B describes the opposite (cosmopolitan distribution); C describes captive-only survival; D describes an introduced species, none of which match the definition of endemism.

   Common mistake: Students sometimes confuse 'endemic' with 'rare' or 'endangered', which are related but distinct concepts.

   Key point: Endemic = restricted to one region, found nowhere else; high endemism increases extinction vulnerability.

8. Question 8 · medium · Biodiversity Conservation

   Regarding the number of biodiversity hotspots identified globally, which statement is correct?

   • A.Exactly 10 hotspots were identified and this number has remained fixed and unchanged since the concept was proposed
   • B.Originally 25 hotspots were identified; this number has since been revised and expanded as more regions were assessed
   • C.The number of hotspots has decreased over time as regions lost their biodiversity entirely
   • D.Hotspots are counted per country, with each country having exactly one hotspot
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. Originally 25 hotspots were identified; this number has since been revised and expanded as more regions were assessed

   Norman Myers originally identified 25 biodiversity hotspots; further assessment has since expanded this list.

   The biodiversity hotspot concept, introduced by Norman Myers, originally identified 25 hotspots worldwide based on high endemism and high threat. As conservation science progressed and more regions were evaluated against the criteria, this number was revised and expanded to include additional hotspots. It is not a fixed count of 10, does not decrease due to biodiversity loss, and is not allocated one per country.

   Common mistake: Students may confuse the original count with the current expanded count or assume the number is fixed.

   Key point: Originally 25 hotspots identified by Myers, later expanded/revised as assessment methods improved.

Questions about Biodiversity and Conservation for NEET

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Questions are original NEET720 compositions reviewed for correctness, syllabus fit and option quality. Counts update as the bank grows (563 active practice questions in this chapter today).