Home PYQs UPPSC UPPSC MCQs Prelims 2001 (GS Paper I)

Question

Assertion (A): Increase in the diversity of food webs promotes ecosystem stability.
Reason (R): It increases the resilience of the ecosystem.

  1. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
  2. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
  3. A is true but R is false
  4. A is false but R is true

Answer:

Option A: Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

Detailed Solution:

The correct answer is “Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A”.

Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true.

A diverse food web means there are multiple species fulfilling similar ecological roles. If one species is affected by a disturbance, others can compensate, maintaining the overall ecosystem function. This is exactly what resilience means - the ability of an ecosystem to recover from disturbances.