Extinction of Mitchell's Satyr by collectors

[Mark Walker]

Michael wrote:

> I think it important to remind people that whether collecting 
> is "good" 
> or "bad" or whether collectors are "good" or "bad", or how 
> many of the 
> latter there may be in our midst, are separate questions from 
> "whether 
> or not a species or a population CAN be collected out of existence. A 
> species with high fecundity, high vagility, broad habitat 
> tolerance, and 
> large initial populations sizes is not a model for a relict 
> species with 
> small populations, low fecundity, restricted range, and short flight 
> period.  Despite time-honored beliefs, it would have been relatively 
> easy with multiple visits each year over a period of a few years, to 
> eliminate the Satyr species (or at least reduce it to a low 
> level where 
> random events led to its extinction). 

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but shouldn't there be a distinction made
between "collecting a species out of existence" and collecting the last
specimen in existence?  Please, I am by no means defending the latter - but
it seems wrong to me to deduce that since the last specimen was collected,
that collecting is responsible for the elimination of the species.

Mark Walker