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Related Experiment Video

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At-Risk Butterfly Captive Propagation Programs to Enhance Life History Knowledge and Effective Ex Situ Conservation Techniques

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Minimum viable populations: is there a 'magic number' for conservation practitioners?

Curtis H Flather¹, Gregory D Hayward, Steven R Beissinger

¹USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|April 5, 2011

Summary

General guidelines for minimum viable population (MVP) size are not supported by current data or theory. This study questions the broad applicability of a 5000-individual MVP threshold for species conservation planning.

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Predicting the Effectiveness of Population Replacement Strategy Using Mathematical Modeling

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Published on: July 4, 2007

Area of Science:

Conservation Biology
Population Ecology
Wildlife Management

Background:

Species conservation priorities and recovery goals benefit from extinction risk assessments.
Data-deficient situations necessitate alternative approaches for setting conservation targets.
The concept of minimum viable population (MVP) has been revisited to establish general guidelines for species persistence.

Purpose of the Study:

To re-evaluate the general applicability of a proposed minimum viable population (MVP) threshold of ≥5000 adult individuals for long-term species persistence.
To assess whether a universal MVP threshold is supported by ecological data and theory.
To inform conservation policy regarding the utility of generalized MVP guidelines.

Main Methods:

Literature review and theoretical analysis of existing data on population viability.
Critical re-evaluation of studies proposing a universal MVP threshold.
Assessment of the influence of taxonomy, life history, and environmental conditions on population persistence.

Main Results:

Current data and ecological theory do not support the general applicability of a fixed minimum viable population (MVP) size threshold.
The proposed MVP threshold of ≥5000 adult individuals is not universally applicable across different species or conditions.
The utility of generalized MVP guidelines for conservation planning is questionable.

Conclusions:

A universal minimum viable population (MVP) size is not ecologically sound.
Conservation planning should not rely on a one-size-fits-all MVP threshold.
Further research is needed to develop more nuanced approaches to setting species recovery goals.