CES Ecosystem Management & Sustainability Practices 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which ecological concept describes the maximum population size an environment can sustainably support?
- Minimum viable population
- Carrying capacity (Correct answer)
- Trophic cascade
- Ecological threshold
Correct answer: Carrying capacity
Carrying capacity (K) is the maximum population size a given environment can support indefinitely given available resources.
Question 2: Under the Endangered Species Act, what is required before a species can be 'delisted'?
- Population must exceed historic levels
- Recovery criteria in the species' recovery plan must be met (Correct answer)
- The species must be absent from the threatened list for 5 years
- Habitat must be fully restored to pre-disturbance condition
Correct answer: Recovery criteria in the species' recovery plan must be met
Delisting requires demonstrating that species-specific recovery criteria outlined in the approved recovery plan have been achieved.
Question 3: A watershed management plan identifies nitrogen loading as the primary stressor in a lake. Which best management practice (BMP) most directly reduces agricultural non-point source nitrogen runoff?
- Installing riparian buffer strips (Correct answer)
- Constructing retention ponds downstream
- Adding aeration systems to the lake
- Planting floating wetland islands
Correct answer: Installing riparian buffer strips
Riparian buffer strips intercept and denitrify nitrogen-laden runoff before it reaches the water body.
Question 4: Adaptive management differs from traditional resource management primarily because it:
- Requires stakeholder consensus before any action
- Uses management interventions as experiments with structured monitoring and adjustment (Correct answer)
- Eliminates uncertainty through extensive pre-project modeling
- Relies solely on regulatory mandates to drive decisions
Correct answer: Uses management interventions as experiments with structured monitoring and adjustment
Adaptive management treats actions as structured experiments, using monitoring data to iteratively adjust management strategies.
Question 5: The triple bottom line framework in sustainability accounting measures performance across which three dimensions?
- Economy, ecology, energy
- People, planet, profit (Correct answer)
- Social, structural, environmental
- Carbon, water, biodiversity
Correct answer: People, planet, profit
The triple bottom line (TBL) framework evaluates organizational performance across social (people), environmental (planet), and economic (profit) dimensions.
Question 6: Which tool is used to systematically identify and evaluate the environmental impacts of a proposed federal action in the United States?
- Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)
- Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (Correct answer)
- Pollution Prevention Plan (P2)
- Best Available Technology (BAT) analysis
Correct answer: Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required under NEPA for major federal actions significantly affecting the environment.
Question 7: In landscape ecology, a 'corridor' primarily functions to:
- Serve as a buffer zone between human development and core habitat
- Connect fragmented habitat patches to facilitate wildlife movement (Correct answer)
- Define the boundary of a protected area
- Channel stormwater away from sensitive habitats
Correct answer: Connect fragmented habitat patches to facilitate wildlife movement
Corridors link isolated habitat patches, enabling wildlife dispersal, gene flow, and recolonization, which is critical for biodiversity conservation.
