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Q60 (IAS/2018) Environment & Ecology › Biodiversity & Protected Areas › Threatened species conservation Official Key

The term "sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction" is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of

A

Widespread monoculture practices in agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.

B

Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65 million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.

C

Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivation in other parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss of food biodiversity.

D

Mankind's over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.

Result

Your answer: — · Correct: D

Explanation

The correct answer is (d).

The term "sixth mass extinction" (also called the Holocene extinction or Anthropocene extinction) refers to the ongoing extinction event primarily caused by human activities. Unlike the previous five mass extinctions which were caused by natural phenomena (asteroid impacts, volcanic eruptions, climate shifts), the sixth extinction is driven by:

Over-exploitation of natural resources (overfishing, poaching, overharvesting)
Habitat destruction and fragmentation (deforestation, urbanization)
Pollution (plastic pollution, chemical contamination)
Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions
Invasive species introduced by human activity

The concept was popularized by Elizabeth Kolbert's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History" (2014). Scientists estimate species are going extinct at 100-1,000 times the normal background rate.

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Q. The term "sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction" is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of [A] Widespread mono…

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The sixth mass extinction is a well-known concept in environmental studies, covered in NCERT Biology Class 12 (Biodiversity and Conservation) and frequently discussed in environmental current affairs. Elizabeth Kolbert's book and IUCN reports make this a commonly tested topic.

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The term "sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction" is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of

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