Question

Match List-I with List-II

List-I (Types of ecology)	List-II (Explanation)
(A) Ecosystem ecology	(I) The units of study are interactions between different communities of area.
(B) Community ecology	(II) The units of study are pure stands of individuals of a single species.
(C) Biome ecology	(III) The units of study are groups of individuals belonging to different species of plants as well as animals.
(D) Population ecology	(IV) The most complicated synecological approach to the ecology of an area.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• (A) - (I), (B) - (II), (C) - (III), (D) - (IV)
• (A) - (III), (B) - (I), (C) - (IV), (D) - (II)
• (A) - (I), (B) - (III), (C) - (IV), (D) - (II)
• (A) - (IV), (B) - (III), (C) - (I), (D) - (II)

Hint:

Start from the narrowest scale, a single species population, and build up to the broadest, the whole ecosystem.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
This question asks you to match four branches of ecology, ecosystem, community, biome and population ecology, with the scale of study each one covers.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Ecology can be studied at different scales, from a single species population, up through communities of many species, up to whole biomes, and finally the full ecosystem including non living factors. The wider the scale, the more complex, or synecological, the study becomes.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
(D) Population ecology looks at one species at a time, a "pure stand" of individuals of a single species, so it matches definition (II).
(B) Community ecology studies groups of individuals from different plant and animal species living together, matching definition (III), "groups of individuals belonging to different species of plants as well as animals."
(C) Biome ecology looks at the interactions between different communities spread over a large area, matching definition (I), "interactions between different communities of area."
(A) Ecosystem ecology is the broadest and most complex synecological approach, folding in both living communities and the physical environment together, matching definition (IV), "the most complicated synecological approach to the ecology of an area."

Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct matching is (A)-(IV), (B)-(III), (C)-(I), (D)-(II), which corresponds to option (4).