Ecology & Environment - CSAT

Prelim, 2014 had quite a few surprises up its sleeve. As far as paper-1 is concerned, emphasis on environment, ecology and bio-diversity was clearly evident. Over the years this topic has figured prominently in paper-1 but now it seems to have gathered as much importance as the conventional areas. There were about 18 questions from environment, ecology and related topics in this year’s prelim. It seems that there is still not much clarity on how to go about this area of syllabus atleast not as much as the conventional areas of history, polity etc. Many of us either leave this topic or do it vaguely. Following is an effort to dissect this area of the syllabus and work out a strategy. Also mentioned in italics, are the sources from which different topics can be studied.

If you see the UPSC notification, this topic can be divided under four broad headings. These are:

1.      Environment

2.      Ecology

3.      Biodiversity

4.      Climate-change

It is easy to infer that these topics are inter-related. Here’s taking them up one by one;

1. ENVIRONMENT- very broad subject but if you see questions from last few years, they basically come from the following areas:

(i) Natural Resources– renewable and non-renewable (questions on non-conventional energy resources have become a surety in last few years, so it should be done rather comprehensively)

* Two questions in prelim, 2014; relating to solar energy and shale gas & coal-bed-methane.
(Source– Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses)

(ii) Pollution – a thorough understanding of Air, water, noise, soil, nuclear, thermal,e-waste.

*one question in prelim, 2014; relating to pollutants of steel industry.

(Source– Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses)

(iii) International Efforts –just basic ideas about:

·         United Nations Environment Program (UNEP),

·         International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),

·         Global Environment facility

*question asked in prelim, 2014.

·         World Wildlife fund for nature (WWF).

*question about WWF’s ‘earth hour’ appeared in prelim, 2014.

·         NGOs like Conservation International, Greenpeace etc.

(Source- all these organizations have their own web-pages, can google-search and read).

(iv) India’s Efforts – get basic ideas of:

·         Environment protection act-1986

*question on eco-sensitive zones figured in prelim, 2014. Eco-sensitive zones come under Environment protection Act.

·         Various pollution related acts (Air pollution Act-1981, water pollution act-1974 etc.),

·         Environment Impact Assessment.

·         Indian institutions and organizations like BNHS, Animal Welfare Board of India, NGRBA (*all three figured in a question this year), Centre for Science and Environment, TERI, Central Pollution Control Boards etc.

(Source- Google search and read them, best option)

(v) Current happenings – reports, issues, discoveries.

(Keeping an eye on The Hindu’s Thursday science page can take care of most things here. Don’t go for every small piece of information coming from various research groups, just some important ones coming from national, international platforms).

2.      ECOLOGY- questions here are easy pickings if you just go through the basic ecology. Areas one can cover here are:

1.  Structure of ecosystem (biotic-abiotic components, Producer-consumer-decomposer concept),
2.   Types of ecosystems (grasslands, mangroves, estuaries,
3.    Food chains and food web (*question asked in prelim,2014),
4.    Ecological pyramids,
5.    Biogeochemical cycles,(*question asked on carbon cycle, prelim 2014)
6.    Ecological succession,
7.    Biological interactions (mutualism, parasitism etc.)
8.    A glossary of ecological terms.

(Source– http://mrunal.org/2013/0 2/food-chain-food-web-trophic-levels-biotic-potential-bio-magnification-ignou-download.html#download, any basic book on ecology will do the needful).

    3. BIO-DIVERSITY- here one can go for a mix of theory and the present International and India’s         efforts:

(i) Theory–

·         concept of bio-diversity (genetic, species, ecosystem diversity),

·         threats to bio-diversity (habitat fragmentation, desertification, poaching),

·         Conservation of biodiversity (in-situ and ex-situconservation),

·         Bio-diversity in India (hot-spots, world heritage sites of natural importance).

(Source– ICSE board books on environmental studies, class-IX, X ; Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses).

(ii) International Efforts – get basic ideas about

·         Convention on bio-diversity (CBD)-history and current events/decisions.

·         Cartagena Protocol,

·         Nagoya protocol (and Aichi targets),

·         IUCN Red list (its various categories, important additions to it in last year, especially from India),

·         Various conventions like Convention on migratory species (CMS), Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), Ramsar convention (* 2 questions in this year’s prelim) etc.

(Sources- Basically just go to ‘Convention on biological diversity’ page (https://www.cbd.int/) and read )

(iii) India’s Efforts– basic idea of;

·         Wild-life protection act,

·         Forest conservation act,

·         Bio-diversity Act, 2002 (and National Biodiversity Authority),

·         Protected areas (biosphere reserves, National parks, wildlife sanctuaries – names and states in which they are located, protected areas known for particular animals {e.g. Kaziranga for rhino}, protected areas that have been in news, protected areas notified recently)

* two questions apperared in prelims 2014)
(questions on protected areas is a certainty every year,; there is no alternative to memorizing them; repeated revision and use of maps can help).

·         Conservation efforts (project tiger, project elephant, rhino vision-2020 etc.)

·         Concept of Genetically Modified Organisms (or Transgenic organisms), current debate on it, institutional mechanisms in India.

·         Environmental clearance, National Green Tribunal.

(all the above topics are easily available on google search)

4. CLIMATE CHANGE- again can be divided into theory, International Efforts and India’s Efforts;

(i) Theory– basic understanding of

·         Global warming; ozone layer and its depletion; Acid Rain.

·         Implication of these events on climate

*one question figured in prelim, 2014.
(questions from this area are common)
(Source- Erach Bharucha’s Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses).

(ii) International Efforts–

·         UNFCC- history (the convention, Kyoto protocol, Bali Road map, Cancun Agreement, Durban Outcomes, Doha climate gateway, Warsaw outcomes), current happenings/decisions (COP deliberations).

(Source–http://unfccc.int/essentialbackground/items/6031.php)

·         IPCC- crux of its recent reports.

(Source-http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml)

·         Vienna Convention, Montreal protocol.

(iii) India’s Efforts–

·         National Action Plan for climate change, its various sub-planes.

·         India’s stand at international platforms.

·         Various policies/projects/schemes related to climate change.

      (Source-Economic Survey Chapter ; India Year Book chapters)

As is clear there is a greater use of internet in studying various topics since nothing is available at one particular place. You can compile your notes/material in the manner described above and keep adding on to it as and when you find or read something. Also, there is greater scope of using common-sense in environment related questions. Many times an intelligent guess backed by logic can make up for lack of precise knowledge. It goes without saying that at the end it’s about retaining what you read and applying it during the exam.

Best of Luck.

Zoology for Indian Forest Service

Taking up Zoology

Zoology is not a general subject. Certainly not at the level that is required for clearing IFS. There is a great deal of terminology and factual knowledge involved which can only be handled by someone who has studied the subject atleast till graduation level. Graduates in medical science can however prove an exception.

Preparation

Like any other optional, the first step is to get thoroughly acquainted with the syllabus. I would like to emphasize the importance of three things at the outset itself.

First is making concise notes. Having hand-made notes helps greatly when one has to revise things in a short span of time just before the exam. Also things written and drawn in your notes are recalled more quickly and clearly during the exam. Although everyone has a different style of making notes there are a few general things that one can keep in mind. One is to not just copy whatever is written in the book. This usually happens when you make notes during the first reading itself. It is important to process the information in your mind before you jot it down in your own words. Feel free to underline and colour your textbook and take away the concept keeping the economy of words. Notes made in this manner are brief and personalized and thus are easy to revise and recall. One can unfold them almost effortlessly while writing answers. Same goes for the diagrams. Study the diagram well and then draw a simpler version by yourself.  

Second important thing is to revise. Zoology has no dearth of facts even if you spare the details. You may leave some topics in case you are pressed for time or are unable to grow an interest or an understanding but whatever you choose to study, make sure you revise it well.

Third is to try forming a small group of sincere aspirants. It’s not a necessity but it goes a long way in making your preparation of the subject ‘clean’ i.e. devoid of areas where u are uncomfortable or unclear.

Now let’s just take up each paper one by one and deal with the syllabus and strategy to cover it.

PAPER-I

Section A

Whole of section-A comes from Non-chordates and chordates. This area is replete with factual knowledge and is the most time-consuming portion in the syllabus. However mastering this area can be most rewarding since questions are mostly direct and only need a recall of the information.

Avoid going into the details of all type studies. Questions from type studies are generally broad-based and don’t require remembering all the little facts and factoids. Try to remember a general outline of the various organ systems based on the group to which the animal belongs. It is important to relate things from an evolutionary point of view. Personal notes and diagrams are immensely helpful in this section.

Books – Invertebrates (Kotpal), Vertebrates (Kotpal).

Section B

Section B is not as information heavy. It becomes important in case one doesn’t remember a part of a question in section A. So in a way this section can take off the pressure from section A.  Good thing with this section is that most topics are well laid out so preparing them is not very time consuming. Since questions usually contain subparts from different topics it is important to be comprehensive in this section. Not knowing subparts of questions limits your options in the exam and the anxiety might also lead to not choosing your best three questions. So its better to be full-proof here. However some topics in this section (especially Ethology) are not as readily available and might require an internet search.

(i)                  Ecology and Environment – Do not take this part lightly. Though one prepares many of these topics in Geography for GK (or Civil Services GS), the level of answer writing required in an optional is above the GK level and should not be generalistic.

Books – Ecology by P.D.Sharma, notes from Evolution.

(ii)                Ethology – Topics here are not available in one single book. One needs to search the various topics on internet and prepare brief notes. An eight mark sub-part from ethology is a certainty in the compulsory question. One can refer some topics from Evolution notes.

Books – An introduction to Animal Behaviour (Manning, Cambridge University)

(iii)               Economic Zoology – the topics here are straight-forward. Can make concise notes from two or more places on internet.

(iv)              Biostatistics – Aspirants not comfortable with mathematics might want to go light here. But the questions asked are mostly theoretical in nature so atleast that much should be well clear. Can use internet.

PAPER-II

Section A

(i)                  Cell Biology – A relatively easy and yet productive area in terms of marks. No answer written here can afford missing diagrams. In case one is taking Botany as other optional, preparing this topic well is a must.

Books- Cooper (Cell biology-A molecular approach).

(ii)                Genetics – straight forward topics here. It is not uncommon to see this area dominate the first part of question paper. So preparing it well is important.

 Books – BIOS Instant Notes Genetics (Publisher-Taylor and Francis), Principles of Genetics (Gardener).

(iii)               Evolution – An important area. Make brief notes and it’ll be taken care of for once and all.

Books- S Chand’s text book- Cell Biology, Genetics, Evolution and Ecology (P.S.Verma).

(iv)           Systematics – can appear as a compulsory question subpart. Make brief notes from internet.

Section B

(i)                  Biochemistry – try to remember chemical structures by practicing. Areas like Cell biology, genetics and biochemistry can have an overlap at places. If one is clear with these three, one can write very wel- structured answers.

Books – BIOS Instant notes Biochemistry (Publisher-Taylor and Francis), Lehninger- Principles of Biochemistry.

(ii)                Physiology – diagrams are important here. Citing diseases with a mechanism can fetch more marks here.

 Books – Notes from Evolution (spare the excessive details).

(iii)               Developmental Biology – can be slightly tricky especially for those who haven’t read it before. Diagrams require some 3D visualization so it’s better to gather the concept from coloured figures.

Books – Balinsky – An introduction to Embryology.

In the Exam hall

It’s important to be in a balanced frame of mind while you attempt the paper. As far as attitude in the exam hall is concerned ‘equanimity’ is the word you are looking for. One may take some time to analyze the question paper well and choose the best three questions he/she can answer. It is better to answer the more objective questions in case one knows the answer since the chances of loosing marks are much less in comparison to general questions (e.g. in case you know both equally, answering a question like ‘critically examine the role of various proteins in DNA replication’ can always fetch more marks then ‘write an essay on sustainable development’). Also, drawing figures/diagrams should be your first priority while answering. The visual appeal fetches more marks and in most cases saves precious time. Set time targets and speed up your attempt accordingly (e.g. finishing three questions by two hour mark).

Best of Luck,

Kunal Angrish.