Here is a list of top twenty-five interview questions on ecology which help you to succeed in an interview.
Q. 1. Define ecology.
Ans. According to Haeckel (1869) ecology is “the science treating the reciprocal relations of organisms and the external world”. Warming (1905) defined ecology as “the study of organisms in relation to their environment”.
Q.2. Give the names of five foreign ecologists of international fame.
Ans. Haeckel, Warming, Odum, Clements, Taylor.
Q.3. Give the names of five Indian workers on ecology.
Ans. R. Mishra, G.S. Puri, S.C. Pandeya, P.S. Ramakrishnan, R.S. Ambasth.
Q. 4. Define autecology.
Ans. The science dealing with the relation of individual species to its environment is called autecology.
Q. 5. What is synecology?
Ans. The study of the groups of organisms in relation with their environment is made under synecology.
Q. 6. What are the basic branches of synecology?
Ans. Population ecology, Community ecology, Biome ecology, Ecosystem ecology, etc.
Q. 7. What are the types of ecological factors?
Ans. Climatic factors (light, temperature, rainfall, humidity, etc.), Topographic factors, edaphic factors and biotic factors.
Q. 8. What is phytogeography?
Ans. The science which deals with the geographical distribution of plants is called phytogeography.
Q. 9. Define genecology.
Ans. The study of ecology which deals with the variations of species based upon their genetic potentialities.
Q. 10. What are the chief topographic factors?
Ans. The important topographic factors are height of mountains, direction of mountains and valleys, steepness of the slopes, exposure of slope, etc.
Q. 11. What do you know about edaphic factors?
Ans. The ecological factors in which we study the structure and composition of soil, as well as its chemical and physical characters.
Q. 12. Define a soil profile.
Ans. Soil profile is an imaginary longitudinal section of the soil showing its different regions. The different regions are horizon ‘A’, horizon ‘B’, horizon ‘C’ and horizon ‘D’. The soil is actually devisible into top soil and sub-soil.
Q. 13. What are the range of diameters of particles of clay, silt and fine sandy soil?
Ans. Clay soil – Less than 0.002 m.m.
Silty soil -0.002-0.02 m.m.
Fine sandy soil -0.02-0.20 m.m.
Q. 14. What are the types of soil erosion?
Ans. Chief types of soil erosion are water erosion (sheet erosion, rill erosion, and gully erosion), wind erosion, landslides or slip erosion, and over felling and overgrazing.
Q. 15. Define in brief the soil conservation.
Ans. Various methods of checking the soil erosion are studied under soil conservation.
Q. 16. Name some free-floating hydrophytes.
Ans. Azolla, Eichhornia, Lemna, Pistia, Salvinia, Spirodella, Wolfia, etc.
Q. 17. Name only four rooted-submerged hydrophytes.
Ans. Hydrilla, Isoetes, Potamogeton and Vallisneria.
Q. 18. Name some succulent xerophytes.
Ans. Opuntia, Aloe, Agave, Euphorbia splendens, Cereus, Mammalaria, etc.
Q. 19. Name some ephemeral annual xerophytes.
Ans. Argemonemaxicana, Solanum xanthocarpum, Cassia tora, etc.
Q. 20. Define ecological succession.
Ans. Sequential occurrence of communities over a period of time in the same area is called ‘ecological succession’.
Q. 21. What are the sequential stages of a hydrosere or hydrarch?
Ans. Phytoplankton stage, Rooted-submerged stage, Rooted-floating stage, Reed-swamp stage, Sedge-meadow stage, Woodland stage and Forest stage or Climax.
Q. 22. What are the sequential stages of a xerosere on rock?
Ans. Crustose lichen stage, Foliose lichen stage, Moss stage, Herb stage, Shrub stage and Forest stage or Climax.
Q. 23. What are the types of ecological pyramids?
Ans. Pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids of energy.
Q. 24. Define pollution?
Ans. According to E.P. Odum (1971) the “pollution is an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of our air, land and water that may or will waste or deteriorate our raw material resources”.
Q. 25. What are the various agencies of pollution?
Ans. Sewage, industrial wastes, smoke, automobile exhausts, herbicides, insecticides, noise and radioactive substances are the main agencies of pollution.