2011 AIPMT-MAINS Organisms and PopulationsAdaptations, age pyramids and population interactions Medium Question 61 of 90 in Organisms and Populations

Consider the following statements (A)–(D), each with one or two blanks.
(A) Bears go into ____(1)____ during winter to ____(2)____ cold weather
(B) A conical age pyramid with a broad base represents ____(3)____ human population
(C) A wasp pollinating a fig flower is an example of ____(4)____
(D) An area with high levels of species richness is known as ____(5)____
Which one of the following options gives the correct fill ups for the respective blank numbers from (1) to (5) in the statements?

A (3) – expanding, (4) – commensalism, (5) – biodiversity park
B (1) – hibernation, (2) – escape, (3) – expanding, (5) – hot spot
C (3) – stable, (4) – commensalism, (5) – marsh
D (1) – aestivation, (2) – escape, (3) – stable, (4) – mutualism

The answer is B.

Solution

(1) and (2): bears go into hibernation (winter sleep) during winter to escape the cold weather. Aestivation is summer sleep, used to avoid heat and desiccation.
(3): a conical (triangular) age pyramid with a broad base has a large pre-reproductive group, so it represents an expanding (growing) population; a stable population has a bell-shaped pyramid.
(4): the fig and its pollinating wasp both benefit (the wasp gets a site for egg laying and food for its larvae, the fig gets pollinated), so this is mutualism, not commensalism.
(5): an area with a high level of species richness and endemism is called a biodiversity hot spot.
The only option in which every fill-up is correct is (1) – hibernation, (2) – escape, (3) – expanding, (5) – hot spot.

Concept Hibernation, age pyramid, mutualism, hotspot

Organisms and Populations in past papers

90 questions from this chapter have appeared across 25 exam years.