Out of curiosity, Apos, where did you get the figure of “34 breedable individuals as a bare minimum for a separate species”? The minimum viable population (MVP) is going to be dependent on a number of factors, not the least of which is the actual species in question. Here, for example, it is mentioned that at least 50 breeding pairs of Great Green macaws are necessary to conserve that species. And here it is mentioned that for some big cats, the number may be as high as 1,000 individuals. And, for yet a third example, here we find that 500 seems to be the “magic number” for many species (and in particular, whales). And, heck, for asexual or hermaphroditic species, a single individual could be sufficient to maintain that species.
Even using the high estimate of 1,000 indivduals per species, that still leaves room for a vast number of species, considering many extant species number in the billions, in terms of population. One obvious problem with all of them ever having existed simultaneously, however, is that not all were adapted to the same prevailing conditions at a given time. Climates change, and faunas (and floras) change with them (though, I suppose the determined creationist could argue that God, in His infinite wisdom, created numerous “microclimates”, suitable for each and every gosh-darned species, each “kind” neatly tucked away in its own specially-created ecological pigeon-hole. Or, alternatively, everything was initially adapted for the same, then-existing conditions, and the Fall messed everything up for everyone. But I would think this would require a new creation event, in order to now make everything “fit” its post-Fall environment).
That, and some species are just going to outcompete others for whatever limited living space is available; this would be true even given a “uniform adaptation” for the climate at that time. Thus, extinctions would almost certainly happen almost immediately (again, assuming simultaneous creation of all living things, ever), within a few generations, at most, which in turn means that every species really couldn’t have lived simultaneously with every other.
About the only way it could work is to invoke PaulYeah’s “miracle” on a massive scale, and provide all organisms with the necessary sustenance, etc., direct from God. In other words, God would have to have provided all organisms with all of their needs (not just food) until the Fall. Then, He’d still have to have altered everything to take into account the various post-Fall environs. Then, species die off in droves, leaving us with the fossils we find today!
