
Why Species Go Extinct: The Causes of Extinction Explained
Why species go extinct usually involves a chain of pressures, including habitat loss, exploitation, invasive species, climate change and small populations.

Why species go extinct usually involves a chain of pressures, including habitat loss, exploitation, invasive species, climate change and small populations.

Habitat destruction is not only the moment a forest is cleared or a wetland drained. Habitats can also become too degraded, fragmented or disconnected to support the species and e…

Earth has experienced five catastrophic mass extinctions in the fossil record. Today species are disappearing unusually fast, largely because of human pressures. Whether that alre…

Extinction is the final stage of a longer decline. Habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, climate change and disease can reduce populations until ordinary ba…

Biodiversity is the variety within genes, species and ecosystems that keeps living systems functioning. Its decline is not simply about losing rare wildlife; it can weaken ecologi…