Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs Volume 8 The Black-footed Ferret Article 13 5-1-1986 Determing minimum population size for recovery of the black-footed ferret Craig R. Groves Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209 Tim W. Clark Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209 Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbnm Recommended Citation Groves, Craig R. and Clark, Tim W. (1986) "Determing minimum population size for recovery of the black-footed ferret," Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs: Vol. 8 , Article 13. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbnm/vol8/iss1/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. DETERMINING MINIMUM POPULATION SIZE FOR RECOVERY OF THE BLACK-FOOTED FERRET Craifj; R. Groves' ~ and Tim W. Clark' Abstract. —A minimum viable population (MVP) size is estimated for the critically endangered black-footed ferret by examining five basic methods: experiments, biogeographic jiatterns, theoretical models, simulation models, and genetic considerations. Each method is evaluated for its appiical)ilit\ to the ferret and endangered species in general with two criteria in mind: (1) potential research impacts to target species and (2) the value of scientific accuracy and precision in relation to short-term conservation needs. For the black-footed ferret, the genetic method proved to be the most useful, resulting in an MVP estimate of about 200 ferrets for maintenance of short-term fitness.