Match List-I with List-II
| Species | Population interaction terms |
|---|---|
| (A) Monarch butterfly | (I) Brood parasitism |
| (B) Cuckoo bird | (II) Commensalism |
| (C) Cuscuta | (III) Camouflage |
| (D) Sea anemone and Clown fish | (IV) Parasitism |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A) - (III), (B) - (I), (C) - (IV), (D) - (II)
(A) Monarch butterfly — this matches (III) Camouflage, by elimination. Camouflage means being cryptically coloured, so that the predator cannot see the prey easily. The book does not give the Monarch butterfly as an example of this. It says the Monarch is highly distasteful to birds because of a chemical in its body, which it gets as a caterpillar by feeding on a poisonous weed. That is a chemical defence. So the printed pair does not really match; it is the only entry left once the other three are matched.
(B) Cuckoo bird — this matches (I) Brood parasitism. The cuckoo lays its eggs in the nest of the crow, and the host bird hatches and raises them.
(C) Cuscuta — this matches (IV) Parasitism. Cuscuta has no chlorophyll. It grows on hedge plants and takes its food from them, so it gains and the host is harmed.
(D) Sea anemone and Clown fish — this matches (II) Commensalism. The clown fish gets protection from predators among the stinging tentacles of the sea anemone, while the sea anemone does not gain anything.
Note: Only three pairs of List-I and List-II match as per NCERT. The Monarch butterfly is protected by a distasteful chemical, not by camouflage; it is matched with (III) only because Cuckoo, Cuscuta and the sea anemone–clown fish pair take the other three entries. Option (3) is therefore the only option that can be the answer.
NCERT Extract:
Population Interactions – “… If a predator is too efficient and overexploits its prey, then the prey might become extinct and following it, the predator will also become extinct for lack of food. This is the reason why predators in nature are ‘prudent’. Prey species have evolved various defenses to lessen the impact of predation. Some species of insects and frogs are cryptically-coloured (camouflaged) to avoid being detected easily by the predator. Some are poisonous and therefore avoided by the predators. The Monarch butterfly is highly distasteful to its predator (bird) because of a special chemical present in its body. Interestingly, the butterfly acquires this chemical during its caterpillar stage by feeding on a poisonous weed.”