Question

Assertion: Alien species invasion is the leading cause of species extinction

Reason: The ‘Evil Quartet’ is a sobriquet for biodiversity conservation

• A. Both assertion and reason are true and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion
• B. Both assertion and reason are true but the reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion
• C. Assertion is true but the reason is false
• D. Both assertion and reason are false

Answer 1

The correct option is D Both assertion and reason are false

There are four major causes (The Evil Quartet) of biodiversity losses. 'The Evil Quartet’ is a sobriquet which is used to describe the four causes that lead to biodiversity losses. These are:

(i) Habitat loss and fragmentation: This is the leading cause of species extinction. The degradation and fragmentation of many habitats by human activities threaten the survival of many species.

(ii) Over-exploitation: Human greeds lead to over-exploitation of natural resources which results in species extinction and biodiversity loss.

(iii) Alien species invasion: When alien species are introduced in a particular area, some of them turn invasive and cause decline or extinction of indigenous species leading to biodiversity loss.

(iv) Co-extinction: This refers to the extinction of a species as well as the extinction of the plant and animal species which are associated with that particular species in an obligatory way.