What is the risk of overcollecting for translocation? An opportunistic assessment of a wingless grasshopper

Abstract

Translocation is an increasingly used tool in conservation management, but there is a risk that source populations are overcollected. The risk depends critically on the detection probability and the source population size. We quantified this risk for a wingless grasshopper population in a patch of remnant habitat in suburban Melbourne that was condemned to be cleared for housing development. We collected ∼2000 grasshoppers in five samples spread over 1 month and used the results to estimate the initial population size (∼3400) with high confidence. Despite our perception of substantially depleting the population, we removed only an estimated 60%, and this relatively high fecundity (∼50 eggs p..