Question

A farmer introduced garden lizards into his agricultural fields to eradicate insects. This method is
A. Environmental ethic method
B. Biological control method
C. Bioaccumulation method
D. Biomagnification method

Answer 1

Hint: Insects are the largest group that belong to the phylum Arthropoda. Insects cause damage to crops by consuming leaves and stem directly. This results in loss of crop yield to the farmer. To avoid insect attack, farmers use several techniques, one among all is the biological control method.

Complete answer: The biological control method is the method to control pests by introducing other organisms into the field. It is a method that relies on predation, parasitism and herbivory. In this type of pest control, human management plays a crucial role. Biological control can be of following types:
a) Classical/Importation: In this method, the natural enemy of pests are introduced to gain control over the insect’s population.
b) Inductive/Augmentation: It is a quick control method of controlling pests in which a large population of insect’s predators is introduced to the field.
c) Inoculative/Conservation: In this method, the natural enemies population is maintained by their regular reestablishment.
Garden lizards consume insects. Farmers can introduce them to the field to control insects causing damage to crops in the form of injury or disease and thus, crop yield increases.
So, the correct answer is option B.

Note: The biological interaction where one organism kills and consumes another organism to fulfil energy requirement is called predation.
Parasitism: The interaction where one organism feeds on others but does not kill.
Herbivory: The interaction where animals are adapted to eat plants as in prey-predator interactions.