Human survival

[jason.p]

Given all the apocalyptic disaster scenarios threatening the survival of the human race, what is thought to be the minimum number of survivors for a sufficiently large enough gene pool to ensure our survival as a species. I understand that after the last ice age we were perilously close to extinction.

[123everton]

We've been on the eve of destruction for 1000s of years, we used to look to the church for salvation now we look to scientists, who thoughtfully take our money, prostetelize on how to live our lives and have seminars in far away places.
Do as they say not as they do, some things never change, don't be worrying the human race will survive.

[ChuckFickens]

http://groups.google....read/60e32cc5f21f5164

[jason.p]

Thanks for that Chuck, it's obviously not quite as straightforward as I thought. Not quite sure what a "zero growth" population is, I'll do a bit of Googling and see what I can find.
Thanks again.

[123everton]

Depends where you get your information from,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU
And how gullible you are, I know it's off message and I'm not saying you agree with it's message.

[123everton]

Oooh, you must be a Muslim. LOL.

[dundurn]

You can get away with 6 according to Noah!

[rov1200]

Human survival depends on a smaller population not more. The rise has caused many scientists to believe at the current rate there will we food and water wars.

[jason.p]

My question was about survival of the human species in a post apocalyptic scenario. Whether the survivors are Muslim or Christian seems quite irrelevant. Still, I suppose it gives some on here another opportunity to grind their axe!

[wildwood]

Genetically, the smallest number is two, one of each sex. Father breeds with daughter and mother with son to set up a gene base. From there on it gets more gruesome. Two breeding lines are designed until the third generation and are then crossed to make four lines. etc. etc. This is loosely know as line breeding and is sometimes employed with domesticated animals.
Ofcourse, any young bred which are the wrong sex for their designated place in the pedegree are culled, can't see this happening with humans but it is possible. The ones that have fulfilled their duty are also eliminated so that no breeding outside the pedigree can occur.

[jason.p]

I have always understood that below a certain number, the accumulation of recessive genes (inbreeding) would prevent a species from surviving, and that the larger the number the more likely spontaneous mutations would occur which would be beneficial (presumably most mutations would be non starters). Reading the contributors in Chuck's link shows it's more complicated than that, but assuming that the survivors don't practice selective breeding or eugenics, it still seems to me that the population would have to be of a reasonable size to survive, especially if resources were low, or conditions unfavourable, as a post apocalyptic period would probably be.