Consider the following statements :
- 1.Most of the world’s coral reefs are in tropical waters.
- 2.More than one-third of the world’s coral reefs are located in the territories of Australia, Indonesia and Philippines.
- 3.Coral reefs host far more number of animal phyla than those hosted by tropical rainforests.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Show answer
Answer: D. Statement 1 is correct: most coral reefs are in warm tropical waters. Statement 2 is correct: Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines together hold over a third of the world's reefs. Statement 3 is correct: coral reefs host about 32 of the 34 animal phyla, far more than tropical rainforests. So all three.
Watch for: Rainforests are famed for biodiversity, so students doubt that reefs host more animal phyla.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because statement 3 is also correct.
- B. Wrong because statements 1 and 2 are also correct.
- C. Wrong because statement 2 is also correct.
Source to check: UNEP-WCMC 'World Atlas of Coral Reefs' (2001); NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program website
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.