According to the ‘rivet popper hypothesis’, what happens to the airplane (ecosystem) as more and more rivets (species) are removed?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time.
Paul Ehrlich’s rivet popper hypothesis compares an ecosystem to an airplane held together by thousands of rivets (species). If passengers pop rivets one by one, flight safety may not suffer at first, but as more and more rivets are removed, the plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time. Which rivet is lost also matters.
Option (1) Flight safety is affected as soon as the first rivet is popped. — Incorrect. The hypothesis says the loss of a rivet may not affect flight safety initially. The danger builds up only as more rivets go.
Option (2) The plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time. — Correct. As rivets keep being removed, the plane slowly becomes dangerously weak; in the same way, an ecosystem stops working properly as more of its species are lost.
Option (3) The loss of rivets on the seats becomes more serious than the loss of rivets on the wings. — Incorrect. It is the other way round. Rivets on the wings stand for key species that drive major ecosystem functions, and their loss is more serious than the loss of rivets on the seats or windows.
Option (4) The plane is not affected, as the remaining rivets take over the work of the lost ones. — Incorrect. The remaining rivets do not take over the work of the lost ones; the plane keeps getting weaker as rivets are removed.
NCERT Extract:
The Importance of Species Diversity to the Ecosystem – “… If every passenger travelling in it starts popping a rivet to take home (causing a species to become extinct), it may not affect flight safety (proper functioning of the ecosystem) initially, but as more and more rivets are removed, the plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time. Furthermore, which rivet is removed may also be critical. Loss of rivets on the wings (key species that drive major ecosystem functions) is obviously a more serious threat to flight safety than loss of a few rivets on the seats or windows inside the plane.”