Minimum viable genetic diversity is not a particularly well-established or even objectively knowable metric. I think the relevant number is often vastly overstated, or at least stated without mentioning the strong and arbitrary assumptions that need to be made in determining it.
Wikipedia says:
"The cheetah has unusually low genetic variability. This is accompanied by a very low sperm count, motility, and deformed flagella.[14] Skin grafts between unrelated cheetahs illustrate the former point, in that there is no rejection of the donor skin. It is thought that the species went through a prolonged period of inbreeding following a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age. This suggests that genetic monomorphism did not prevent the cheetah from flourishing across two continents for thousands of years.[15]"
Now - cheetahs are objectively less fit than they would have been without these population bottlenecks, but they're fit enough that they have not been outcompeted. They are probably highly vulnerable to contagion, though - maybe it's only a matter of time before something figures out how to wipe them out... but maybe not. Science isn't gonna be able to predict that one for you.
Anything we can figure out how to breed in captivity, in a controlled environment without predators and with an abundant food supply, has very low pressure on it - these bugs could all have the insect equivalent of mental retardation and missing limbs and at least some of them could probably make it to successfully reproduce.
It also relates to new mutations. An insect with 1,000 offspring might lose 95% of them and still be viable, but most birds or mammals would quickly go extinct if 95% of their offspring where non viable.
Minimum viable genetic diversity is not a particularly well-established or even objectively knowable metric. I think the relevant number is often vastly overstated, or at least stated without mentioning the strong and arbitrary assumptions that need to be made in determining it.
Wikipedia says: "The cheetah has unusually low genetic variability. This is accompanied by a very low sperm count, motility, and deformed flagella.[14] Skin grafts between unrelated cheetahs illustrate the former point, in that there is no rejection of the donor skin. It is thought that the species went through a prolonged period of inbreeding following a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age. This suggests that genetic monomorphism did not prevent the cheetah from flourishing across two continents for thousands of years.[15]"
Now - cheetahs are objectively less fit than they would have been without these population bottlenecks, but they're fit enough that they have not been outcompeted. They are probably highly vulnerable to contagion, though - maybe it's only a matter of time before something figures out how to wipe them out... but maybe not. Science isn't gonna be able to predict that one for you.
Anything we can figure out how to breed in captivity, in a controlled environment without predators and with an abundant food supply, has very low pressure on it - these bugs could all have the insect equivalent of mental retardation and missing limbs and at least some of them could probably make it to successfully reproduce.