Minimum+Viable+Population

====A __minimum viable population (MVP)__ is the minimum number of individuals of the same species that give that group an excellent chance of surviving over many years. In order to be viable, or have a good chance of survival, this population must be large enough to overcome random negative events like a natural disaster or disease outbreak, and avoid **inbreeding depression, genetic drift** and **loss of genetic variability** (36).====

Scientists arrive at the mininum viable population number through sophisticated techniques, in programs known as Population Viability Analyses.
====An MVP can be considered the population size at which species are able to sustain their numbers and survive over the long-term. The MVP can be considered the threshold just above where a population begins a slide into an extinction vortex. ==== ====Because of the very large fluctuations in population size, biologists who study the Puritan beetle emphasize the importance of focusing on adequate habitat rather than a minimum population size. While many biologists feel that maintaining a population size of at least 500 adult beetles is important, generations of fluctuating population sizes appears to have left the Puritan tiger beetle less susceptible to inbreeding depression than most species. As long as habitat is protected, experts are hopeful that the population can successfully rebound from temporarily small sizes - much lower than even the 500 beetles hoped for in the Recovery Plan (24).====