A breeding
population consists of a
group of members of a
species that produce
offspring by
breeding.The
population should be large enough to maintain itself. Without an adequate number of members in the group the
reproductive viability is reduced to the point where the
population will eventually disappear, owing to more
deaths than
births.
As an example, a breeding population of
cockroaches can consist of only two members: one
male and one
female. There's no doubt the population will perpetuate itself. However it is doubtful that one
male and one
female elephant, although they
mate, would be considered a breeding population.