GATE 2026 EY Question Paper with Solution Pdf

The question paper and solution PDF of the Ecology and Evolution paper is available here. The exam ‌for EY paper was conducted on 8th February (2:30 PM to 5:30 PM).

The EY exam happens for 100 marks, where 15 marks come from the general aptitude section, 13 marks from Engineering mathematics. The remaining 72 marks come from core subjects.

Based on the previous year’s analysis, the EY question paper is likely lean towards moderate to tough. To rank under 1000 in Instrumentation, you need to score 55-60+ marks out of 100.

GATE 2026 Ecology and Evolution Question Paper with Solution PDF

GATE 2026 Ecology and Evolution Question Paper with Solution PDF	Download	Check Solutions

GATE 2026 Question Paper

Question 1:

One hypothesis for why the tropics have far greater species richness than higher latitudes is that the tropics are relatively aseasonal. Low seasonality can encourage high species richness through which one or more of the following mechanisms?

(A) Numerous resources are consistently available throughout the year, allowing different species to specialize on different resources, thereby minimizing competition and allowing co-existence.
(B) Low seasonality is associated with lower rates of predation, allowing large populations to thrive.
(C) Low seasonality is associated with more stable populations that are less vulnerable to demographic stochasticity and extinction.
(D) Low seasonality is associated with longer generation times, which enhances species richness.

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Question 2:

You are a plant ecologist studying a plant in the genus \emph{Veronica}. You notice that, at open rocky sites, \emph{Veronica} grows as a creeper spreading low to the ground, whereas in grasslands, the stem stands upright. You collect seeds from multiple populations in each habitat type and grow them under uniform conditions in a greenhouse. You find that all the plants grown in the greenhouse have stems that stand upright. Which one or more of the following explanations best support(s) your observations?

(A) The different morphologies in the natural habitat types are due to phenotypic plasticity.
(B) Inbreeding depression has led to the creeping form in the rocky sites.
(C) High gene flow between populations has restricted local adaptation in the two environments.
(D) The morphological differences between populations demonstrates that growth form is a polygenic trait.

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Question 3:

In conservation biology, which one or more of the following is/are used to calculate the effective population size, \(N_e\)?

(A) The population size required to avoid local extinction in the next 1000 years.
(B) The carrying capacity of the environment.
(C) The sum of the sizes of all connected populations in a metapopulation.
(D) The number of breeding males and females.

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Question 4:

Which one or more of the following is/are greenhouse gas(es)?

(A) Methane
(B) Water vapour
(C) Sulphur dioxide
(D) Nitrous oxide

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Question 5:

Honey bees are haplodiploid, which means that the relatedness is, on average, expected to be 0.75 between

(A) brother-brother pairs with the same parents.
(B) brother-sister pairs with the same parents.
(C) mated female-male pair.
(D) sister-sister pairs with the same parents.

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Question 6:

Observations of algal species showed that their diversity was higher in pools where there were grazing snails compared to pools without snails. Which one of the following statements best explains this result?

(A) Snails feed preferentially on the more abundant algal species.
(B) Snails avoid feeding on algal species.
(C) Snails feed only on the less abundant algal species.
(D) Snails feed equally on all the algal species irrespective of algal abundance.

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Question 7:

An ornamental shrub species was brought from Japan in the early 1800s to India, where it was planted frequently in gardens and parks. The species persisted for many decades without spreading, and then began to spread invasively fifty years ago. Which one or more of the following processes could have led to it becoming invasive?

(A) Evolutionary adaptation to the environment
(B) Open niches due to recent habitat degradation
(C) Climate change
(D) Recent introduction of a specialized herbivore of this shrub species

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Question 8:

During the process of succession in a community, species that are good colonisers are gradually replaced by species that are good competitors. Which one or more of the following statements is/are consistent with this pattern?

(A) Initially, there is great resource limitation.
(B) Keystone species must establish first to facilitate the later establishment of higher trophic level species.
(C) Trees are the climax stage of terrestrial communities and generally have low competitive ability, but high dispersal ability.
(D) For many taxa, there is a tradeoff between dispersal ability and local competitive ability.

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GATE Questions

1.
Consider two infinitely long fins made of the same material and exposed to the same convective environment. One fin has a square cross-section of side \(a\), and the other has a circular cross-section of diameter \(d\). Assume \(a = d\). The ratio of the steady-state heat transfer rate from the square fin to that from the circular fin, \(\frac{\dot{Q}_{\text{square}}}{\dot{Q}_{\text{circular}}}\), is:

\(\frac{\pi}{4}\)
\(\frac{4}{\pi}\)
\(\frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}}\)
\(\frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}\)

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2.
During a welding operation, thermal power of 2500 W is incident normally on a metallic surface. As shown in the figure below (figure is NOT to scale), the heated area is circular. Out of the incident power, 85% of the power is absorbed within a circle of radius 5 mm while 65% is absorbed within an inner concentric circle of radius 3 mm. The power density in the shaded area is _________ W mm^-2 (rounded off to 2 decimal places).

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3.
For the differential equation given below, which one of the following options is correct? \[ \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial x^2} + \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial y^2} = 0, \quad 0 \leq x \leq 1, 0 \leq y \leq 1 \]

\( u = e^{x + y} \) is a solution for all \(x\) and \(y\)
\( u = e^{x} \sin y \) is a solution for all \(x\) and \(y\)
\( u = \sin x \sin y \) is a solution for all \(x\) and \(y\)
\( u = \cos x \cos y \) is a solution for all \(x\) and \(y\)

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4.
Consider two identical tanks with a bottom hole of diameter \( d \). One tank is filled with water and the other tank is filled with engine oil. The height of the fluid column \( h \) is the same in both cases. The fluid exit velocity in the two tanks are \( V_1 \) and \( V_2 \). Neglecting all losses, which one of the following options is correct?

\( V_2>V_1 \)
\( V_2 = V_1 \)
\( V_2<V_1 \)
Insufficient data to definitively conclude the relationship between \( V_1 \) and \( V_2 \)

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5.
Two metal parts (a cylinder and a cube) of same volume are cast under identical conditions. The diameter of the cylinder is equal to its height. The ratio of the solidification time of the cube to that of the cylinder is _______________ (rounded off to 2 decimal places).
Assume that solidification time follows Chvorinov's rule with an exponent of 2.

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6.
A truss structure is loaded as shown in the figure below. Among the options given, which member in the truss is a zero-force member?
\[ {Given: } F = 1000\,{N} \]

\(BD\)
\(BC\)
\(BA\)
\(AD\)

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GATE 2026 EY Question Paper with Solution Pdf

GATE 2026 Ecology and Evolution Question Paper with Solution PDF

GATE 2026 Question Paper

GATE Questions

3.
For the differential equation given below, which one of the following options is correct? \[ \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial x^2} + \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial y^2} = 0, \quad 0 \leq x \leq 1, 0 \leq y \leq 1 \]

6.
A truss structure is loaded as shown in the figure below. Among the options given, which member in the truss is a zero-force member?
\[ {Given: } F = 1000\,{N} \]

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GATE 2026 Ecology and Evolution Question Paper with Solution PDF

GATE 2026 Question Paper

GATE Questions

3.For the differential equation given below, which one of the following options is correct? \[ \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial x^2} + \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial y^2} = 0, \quad 0 \leq x \leq 1, 0 \leq y \leq 1 \]

6.A truss structure is loaded as shown in the figure below. Among the options given, which member in the truss is a zero-force member?\[ {Given: } F = 1000\,{N} \]

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3.
For the differential equation given below, which one of the following options is correct? \[ \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial x^2} + \frac{\partial^2 u}{\partial y^2} = 0, \quad 0 \leq x \leq 1, 0 \leq y \leq 1 \]

6.
A truss structure is loaded as shown in the figure below. Among the options given, which member in the truss is a zero-force member?
\[ {Given: } F = 1000\,{N} \]