Answer: (B)

Explanation:

Answer: (A)

Explanation: Birdlife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. It is world’s largest conservation partnerships for conservation of birds and their habitats. It was earlier known as International Committee for Bird Preservation. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
It publishes a quarterly magazine, World Birdwatch, which contains recent news and authoritative articles about birds, their habitats, and their conservation around the world. It is the official Red List authority for birds, for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It also published important bird areas (IBA) inventory. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Answer: (B)

Explanation: Fly ash is an unwanted unburnt residue of coal combustion in a coal thermal power plant. It is emitted along with flue gases during the burning of coal in a furnace and collected using the electrostatic precipitators. The fly ash collected with the help of precipitators is converted into wet slurry to minimise fugitive dust emissions. Composition of fly ash depends upon the composition of coal being burnt. It may contain Beryllium, Arsenic, unburnt Carbon, Silicon Oxides, Dioxins, aluminium oxide, ferric oxide, calcium oxide, etc. These elements are severe environmental pollutants. It is used in concrete and cement products, road base, metal recovery, and mineral filler among others.
Fly ash particles are toxic air pollutants. They can trigger heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and stroke. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Answer: (C)

Explanation: Eutrophication or hypertrophication, is when a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients that induce excessive growth of plants and algae. This process may result in oxygen depletion of the water body. One example is an “algal bloom” or great increase of phytoplankton in a water body as a response to increased levels of nutrients. Eutrophication is often induced by the discharge of nitrate or phosphate-containing detergents, fertilizers, or sewage into an aquatic system. Hence, both statements are correct.

Answer: (C)

Explanation: Ecotone: An ecotone is a zone of junction or a transition area between two biomes (diverse ecosystems). Ecotone is the zone where two communities meet and integrate. For e.g. the mangrove forests represent an ecotone between marine and terrestrial ecosystem.
Ecocline: It is a zone of gradual but continuous change from one ecosystem to another when there is no sharp boundary between the two in terms of species composition. Ecocline occurs across the environmental gradient (gradual change in abiotic factors such as altitude, temperature (thermocline), salinity (halocline), depth, etc.).
Edge Effect – Edge Species: Edge effect refers to the changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats (ecotone). Sometimes the number of species and the population density of some of the species in the ecotone is much greater than either community. This is called edge effect. The organisms which occur primarily or most abundantly in this zone are known as edge species. In the terrestrial ecosystems edge effect is especially applicable to birds. For example, the density of birds is greater in the ecotone between the forest and the desert.
Ecological Niche: Niche refers to the unique functional role and position of a species in its habitat or ecosystem. Niche plays an important role in the conservation of organisms. If we have to conserve species in its native habitat, we should have knowledge about the niche requirements of the species. No two species in a habitat can have the same niche. This is because of the competition with one another until one is displaced. Hence, all statements are correct.