Question

The Red Data Book deals with -
(a)organisms on the verge of extinction
(b)endemic plants
(c)organisms showing photoperiodism
(d)organisms that are extinct

Answer 1

Hint: All species on this planet are categorized and classified with a specific color based on their number and ability to survive. This is to ensure that the animals in a particular classification are provided with extra attention and treatment if they are prone to death due to natural or unnatural causes.

Complete answer:
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN Red Data Book, which is used synonymously with The Red Data List is a highly comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of criteria to assess the extinction risk of thousands of living taxa, species, and subspecies all around the globe.
- The List catalogs and highlights those plants and animals that are facing a higher risk of global extinction, i.e., those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable.
- This data increases awareness and promotes making informed decisions of conserving species at a local and global level.
- The categories of the List/Book are Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Least Concern, Data Deficient, and Not Evaluated.

Additional Information: - Organizations that carry out the assessment of these species are BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology, London, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and many Specialist Groups within the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC).
- IUCN aspires to have the category of every species re-assessed every five years if possible, or at least every ten years.
- The number of species included on the Red List has been increasing over time due to human activity like overfishing, land development, and deforestation.

So, the correct answer is ‘organisms on the verge of extinction’.

Note: The first comprehensive list of threatened mammals and birds was compiled and published in 1964. It enabled public access to the data.
- The Least Concern assessments, the ones that are not very vulnerable. Before 2003 they did not appear on IUCN Red Lists that were produced. Now they are included to maintain transparency.